Reaction: UK Government Spring Budget

Jeremy Hunt MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, today (March 6) announced the UK Government’s Spring Budget, outlining the UK Government's plans to tackle climate change and support its 2030 net-zero targets.

The UK Government announced a commitment of more than £1 billion to renewable technologies in the next auction round for Allocation Round 6 (AR6) of its Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, which will take place later this year.

Also announced by the UK Government was confirmation that £390 million will be allocated to offshore wind supply chain and electricity networks as part of the Green Industries Growth Accelerator (GIGA).

Responding, Claire Mack Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, said:

“Scotland’s renewable energy industry welcomes today’s announcement that the UK Government has committed more than £1 billion of funding to its next CfD auction, recognising our energy security and net-zero ambitions.

“However, the funding allocated to offshore wind is not fully aligned with the increase in deployment required to meet the UK Government’s stated ambition of deploying 50GW of offshore wind by 2030. With a world leading pipeline of projects, we will only achieve this target through deployment in Scottish waters.

“Industry was seeking a budget and framework that would repair the damage to the UK pipeline from last year’s empty offshore auction. We continue to urge ministers to work with industry in the months ahead to ensure this is delivered so that the AR6 budget matches the enormous economic potential of all renewable energy technologies.

“Meanwhile, we are pleased the UK Government has committed to invest around £400m in the offshore wind supply chain and electricity networks through GIGA and look forward to working closely with the government to determine how this funding can be best utilised in the years ahead.”

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