Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December to Question 118980, how many onshore wind farms he expects to be deployed by March 2019 as a result of the (a) Renewables Obligation, (b) Contracts for Difference Regime (CFD) and (c) Control for Low Carbon Levies; what the timetable is for state aid approval to classify remote island wind as separate technology in group 2 of the CFD; and what proportion of the UK's energy needs he estimates is likely met from on shore wind by 2025.

The Department estimates that 12.6GW of onshore wind installed capacity will be deployed by the end of 2018/19 under the Renewables Obligation.[1]

Fifteen onshore wind projects have entered into a Contract for Difference (CFD) with the Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC), a Government-owned company that administers the CFD regime. The latest information published by the LCCC indicated that for thirteen of these projects, totalling approximately 564MW of capacity, the generator currently expects the station to start generating before the end of March 2019. The published start dates are estimates and subject to change. The LCCC publish information about projects supported by the CFD scheme on their website in a CFD Register - https://lowcarboncontracts.uk/cfds

No additional onshore wind installed capacity is expected to be deployed as result of the Control for Low Carbon Levies by March 2019.

Estimated renewable capacities for onshore wind and other technologies up to 2024-25 are set out in Table 1.B of the Control for Low Carbon Levies.[2] It is expected that 13.32GW of onshore wind installed capacity will be deployed in the UK by 2024-25.

Discussions with the European Commission regarding state aid approval to classify remote island wind as a separate technology in group 2 of the CFD are ongoing and we cannot comment on the content of those discussions.

[1] The Renewables Obligation for 2018/19 (September 2017), BEIS: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/648424/Renewables_Obligation_2018_19_FINAL.pdf

[2] Control for Low Carbon Levies (November 2017), HMT: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/660986/Control_for_Low_Carbon_Levies_web.pdf