Britain has more than doubled funding available under a scheme seeking to spur investment in offshore wind projects to 544 million pounds ($721.78 million), after higher than expected demand, the government said on Friday.
The country has put offshore wind at the heart of its 2030 clean energy plan and hopes to boost capacity from around 15 GW at present to 43-50 GW by the end of the decade.
But there are worries it could miss targets after one of the largest projects in development, Orsted's Hornsea 4 project, was cancelled this week. The Danish company said it was no longer economic to proceed given rising building costs.
An expansion of the investment incentive scheme which the government calls the 'Clean Industry Bonus' from an initial budget of 200 million pounds to 544 million pounds could help improve the financial viability of new projects.
The scheme will help underpin the economics of projects bidding in Britain's next annual renewable subsidy auction which will be held later this year.
Successful bidders in the Clean Industry Bonus will receive an initial 27 million pounds in funding for every gigawatt (GW) of capacity from offshore wind projects.
It is open to developers investing in regions that need it most or in cleaner supply chains, including traditional oil and gas communities, ex-industrial areas and ports and coastal towns, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said.
"This additional funding has the potential to help secure billions in private investment in new factories manufacturing components for the offshore wind industry across the UK," Ana Musat, Executive Director of Policy at industry group RenewableUK said in the government statement.
($1 = 0.7537 pounds)
(Reuters - Reporting By Susanna Twidale)