Proactive Investors - BP PLC (LON:BP) is considering building two huge offshore wind farms in British waters without government subsidy contracts in what would be a first for the sector, according to The Times.
Bernard Looney, the energy group’s chief executive, said it could start building the Morgan and Mona projects in the Irish Sea as soon as “late next year” and may not seek contracts from the government to guarantee their revenues.
The wind farms together would boast up to 214 turbines about 20 miles off the coasts of north Wales and northwest England and could power 3.4 million homes.
Every big wind farm in UK waters to date has been built with some form of subsidy scheme, with projects in recent years supported by “contracts for difference”, awarded through government auctions.
The contracts guarantee that consumers pay a fixed price for electricity from the wind farms, topping up market prices with subsidies when required and offering valuable revenue certainty to developers.
The company is developing the wind projects jointly with EnBW, of Germany.