The UK has secured enough new offshore wind to power 12m homes after the most competitive
UK households face £1.8billion energy bill hike under Ed Miliband plot(Image: )
Energy bills could soar by up to £1.8billion under Ed Miliband’s new wind power plans. The UK has secured enough new offshore wind to power 12m homes after the most competitive – and financially generous – subsidy auction on record.
In response, Miliband, the energy secretary, said the “historic auction” had proved the government’s doubters wrong. Subsidies to green energy developers to fund these projects are paid for by British households through green levies.
These levies could reach almost £1.8 billion a year when hundreds of new wind turbines start generating, which is expected by 2030, ministers have estimated.
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Conservative Party shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said: “Labour promised to cut people’s energy bills by £300, but Ed Miliband has just locked every family in Britain into higher energy bills for decades.
“These are the highest prices for offshore wind in a decade and higher than the current cost of electricity. If you think your bills are too high, this won’t make them any lower.
“Bills are now almost £200 higher than when Labour came to power and Ed Miliband is cementing our uncompetitive electricity prices for even longer at a time when the world is becoming more unstable and we need cheap, reliable energy to compete.”
Mr Miliband, the energy secretary, said: “We’ve secured a record-breaking 8.4GW of offshore wind, enough to power the equivalent of over 12m homes. This is the largest amount of offshore wind procured in any auction ever in Britain or indeed Europe.”
”With these results, we are taking back control of our energy sovereignty. It’s a historic win for those who want Britain to stand on our own two feet, controlling our own energy rather than depending on markets controlled by petrostates and dictators,” Miliband said.”It is a significant step towards clean power by 2030. The price secured in this auction is 40% lower than the alternative cost of building and operating a new gas plant.
“Clean, homegrown power is the right choice to bring down bills for good, and this auction will create thousands of jobs throughout Britain.”
