The United Kingdom is one of those countries that care about the future of Planet Earth. For that reason, it allocates generous sums of money to various large-scale environmental projects. This time, the UK government decided to support the developers of renewable energy projects by means of the Contracts for Difference (CFD) scheme. It has already announced an increase of a few hundred million pounds to the budget to support eligible companies. Notably, London has funded transitions to clean energy before. However, it has never been as generous as this time. The proposed Contracts for Difference scheme guarantees the energy sector protection against fluctuations in electricity prices in the wholesale market. The government is supposed to enter into a private law contract with successful developers of renewable projects through the Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC) and agree on a certain electricity price over a 15-year period. According to the UK authorities, consumers will not have to pay higher bills for energy when the price is high as well.
Companies will compete for annual grants worth £265 million ($366 million). A substantial part of these funds, some £200 million, will be allocated to offshore wind energy projects. The funding is meant to boost energy production capacity to provide 8 million households with electricity. The world’s largest countries are also actively shifting to alternative energy sources. For instance, the United States is planning to build more solar power plants. Meanwhile, China intends to achieve zero emissions by 2060, including through pumped storage hydropower plants.
