Our CEO, Gareth Miller, spoke at the Inspiratia Offshore wind conference held on May 16th. He opened the first session of the conference by setting the scene for a panel session on the competitive dynamics and timetable for CfD Allocation Round 3. He highlighted the likelihood of offshore wind dominating the winning projects at low prices. Consistent with our own findings from our new 20 year Benchmark Power Curve, he picked out the impact of wholesale reference prices on bid valuation and capacity that could be supported by the auction constraints.
He also discussed some wider regulatory factors that have an influence on offshore wind projects that are often overlooked. Following his presentation Gareth spoke on a panel of major lenders, financial and technical advisors about the financing strategies of bidders in response to the CfD allocation and contract structure, taking into account lessons and benchmarks from wider European offshore wind markets. Cornwall Insight will be writing its own piece in pre-emption of AR3 in our flagship publication, Energy Spectrum, in early June.
