Guaranteed prices for new offshore wind projects are lower than new nuclear power plants for the first time in the UK.

A total of 11 energy projects, worth up to £176 million per year, have been successful in the latest Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme.

New offshore wind projects – Hornsea II and Moray Offshore Wind Farm – will be delivered as low as £57.50/MWh from 2022/23.

That’s in comparison to £92.50/MWh for the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, which is expected to start generating power in the latter half of the 2020s.

The projects, which include biomass and waste to energy schemes, will generate 3GW of electricity in total – enough to power around 3.6 million homes.

The subsidies, paid from a levy on consumer bills, will run for 15 years while nuclear subsidies will run for 35 years.

Energy and Industry Minister Richard Harrington said: “The offshore wind sector alone will invest £17.5 billion in the UK up to 2021 and thousands of new jobs in British businesses will be created by the projects announced today.”