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A record amount of solar power in the UK is among more than 200 new renewables projects which have been awarded contracts to generate electricity. The UK government has announced the results of the latest ‘contracts for difference’ auction for clean energy technologies including onshore wind and solar farms. Successful projects include the largest solar farm to win a contract in Britain and the largest onshore wind farm in a decade, the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero has said. Under the contracts, renewables generators bid to receive an agreed rate for the power they produce. If the price of electricity drops below the agreed rate, they are paid a top-up subsidy from consumer bills and if it exceeds it, the generators have to pay back the difference to consumers. The latest auction has secured a record 4.9 gigawatts of solar power, including West Burton solar farm, a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project and the largest solar farm to win a government renewables contract, on the site of a former coal-fired power station in Nottinghamshire. Onshore solar schemes have been agreed at a price of £65.23 per megawatt hour while new onshore wind has been secured at £72.24 per megawatt hour. The government said the prices were under half the £147 per megawatt hour that analysis shows building and operating new gas power stations would cost. Contracts have been awarded to 1.3 gigawatts of onshore wind, including Imerys Wind Farm in Cornwall, which is the largest onshore wind project to be successful in England in a decade, after a de facto ban on the technology was lifted by the Labour government. Taken together with last month’s contracts for offshore wind, the government said it had secured a record 14.7GW of clean, homegrown power from 201 schemes, enough to power the equivalent of 16 million homes, and keeping it on track to meet its ‘clean power by 2030’ mission to source almost all the UK’s electricity from low carbon sources. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: ‘These results show once again that clean British power is the right choice for our country, agreeing a price for new onshore wind and solar that is over 50% cheaper than the cost of building and operating new gas. ‘By backing solar and onshore wind at scale, we’re driving bills down for good and protecting families, businesses, and our country from the fossil fuel rollercoaster controlled by petrostates and dictators. This is how we take back control of our energy and deliver a new era of energy abundance and independence.’ Chris Stark, the head of the Energy Department’s ‘mission control’ to deliver the clean power pledge, said: ‘Today’s record results are another boost for Britain’s 2030 clean power mission. They mean more homegrown power, greater energy security, at a good price for the consumer.’ ‘With each new solar and onshore wind project we reduce Britain’s reliance on gas power plants, insulating families from the next spike in global gas prices.’ By Emily Beament, Press Association Environment Correspondent Press Association: Finance source: PA Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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