UK Government Unveils £1.08 bn Wind Funding Round to Reach Net Zero

The UK government has announced a major funding initiative to accelerate offshore wind development, allocating £1.08 billion (in 2024 prices) each year from 2028/29 to 2031/32, and £900 million in 2032/33. This funding supports two categories: traditional offshore wind (Pot 3) and floating offshore wind (Pot 4). Administrative strike prices are set at £113/MWh for conventional offshore wind and £271/MWh for floating offshore wind in this round. Alongside the main budget, a “Clean Industry Bonus” has been introduced, amounting to £20.1 million per gigawatt of capacity applying, with a total reserved budget of over £544 million. A portion of this is ring-fenced for floating offshore wind to support the more costly supply chain. This move reflects the government’s strategy to transform its energy generation mix so that offshore wind becomes a backbone of the country’s electricity system and pave the way toward achieving “net zero” carbon emissions by 2050.