The 1.4 GW East Anglia 3 offshore wind project has successfully qualified for the Contracts for Difference (CfD) Round 4 auction in the UK and is awaiting the opening of the bidding phase in the second quarter of the year, Iberdrola said.
The eligibility window for the auction opened on 13 December 2021 and closed on 14 January 2022. The sealed bid window for the auction is due to open on 24 May and run until 15 June 2022.
Key contracted engineering, design, and network work on the project has continued throughout the first quarter of the year, Iberdrola, who is developing the East Anglia Three project through its subsidiary, ScottishPower Renewables, said.
The contract for the export cable to shore has been awarded and bids have already been received from suppliers for the supply of the foundations, the inter turbine cable, and the turbine transport and installation package, Iberdrola said.
East Anglia Three is part of ScottishPower Renewables’ GBP 6.5 billion (around EUR 7.7 billion) East Anglia Hub project which also includes two other offshore wind projects: East Anglia One North, and East Anglia Two. The two projects received their Development Consent Orders (DCOs) earlier this month.
In February 2021, ScottishPower Renewables selected Siemens Gamesa as the preferred bidder to supply and install 14+ MW wind turbines on East Anglia Hub, which will comprise more than 200 units.
Construction of the East Anglia Hub is expected to commence in 2023, with completion in 2026.
In this auction round, the UK government plans to support up to double the renewable generation capacity secured in the last Contracts for Difference auction held in 2019, or around 12 GW of renewable generation.
The government has taken forward public investment through a GBP 160 million fund to support the development of offshore wind ports and manufacturing infrastructure. At the Autumn Spending Review in 2021, the government announced that this fund would be scaled up in future years with a total budget of over GBP 300 million, Iberdrola said.