Onshore wind

  • Press Releases

    This winter could see 1.3GW of new wind come online

    Forecasts using Cornwall Insight's 'Renewables pipeline tracker' report shows that a total of 1.3GW of new wind capacity could come online this winter. This is ~5% rise in total capacity, which could reach 25.4GW. The below graph highlights the forecast growth of wind capacity to March 2021. Lucy Dolton, Analyst...

  • Press Releases

    New competition for upcoming Capacity Market auctions

    Research from Cornwall Insight’s Capacity Market Forecast highlights that the recent changes in Capacity Market (CM) rules and the technology mix will see greater competition and change in the technology entering* the T-4 auction in March 2021 compared to the previous T-4 auction. Forecasted changes to the technology mix entering...

  • Press Releases

    Extensions and repowering onshore wind key to supporting net zero target

    Repowering and extensions of existing onshore wind sites in GB have yet to receive the same attention from policymakers as new build. However, without repowering activity, the current ~13GW onshore wind fleet could start to reduce in size from 2027 when many Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) accreditations end. Cornwall Insight’s...

  • Press Releases

    Forecasts show 46 GW increase of renewables technology capacity required by 2030

    Forecasts from Cornwall Insight’s ‘Benchmark power curve’ suggests that up to ~46GW of new build renewable technology  ̶ ~11GW onshore wind, ~10GW solar and ~25GW offshore wind  ̶  may need to be developed by 2030 to keep pace with 2050 net zero targets. This large-scale deployment of very low/zero marginal...

  • Press Releases

    Renewable generator revenues fall due to COVID-19 lockdown

    Research from Cornwall Insight’s Green Power Forecast reveals there has been a sharp decline in generator revenues. Solar and wind technologies have been particularly impacted by low demand levels due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Solar PV captured prices were, on average, 8.4% and 14.9% below baseload levels in March and...

  • Press Releases

    Over 10GW of renewables projects could be competing in the next CfD round

    The government announced the reinstatement of 'Pot 1' technologies – which includes onshore wind and solar PV - in the next Contracts for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round 4 (AR4) in 2021. Research from Cornwall Insight's Renewable Pipeline tracker highlights how competitive the AR4 auction could be, especially between 'Pot 1'...

  • Press Releases

    Western Link outage and high wind sees constraint cost hit a record high

    The Western Link HVDC suffered an unplanned outage on 10 January, which caused it to remain offline until 8 February. This coincided with record-high levels of wind generation in GB with generation from transmission connected wind topping 6.3TWh. However, with 2.2GW of HVDC capacity unavailable, significant volumes of wind output...

  • Press Releases

    Highest offshore wind load factors recorded since 2015

    Latest research from Cornwall Insight highlights that as a result of the elevated wind speeds experienced in January onshore wind load factors averaged 42% for the month, and older offshore sites (pre-2016) reached an average of 52%. Newer (post-2016) windfarms fared much better with offshore wind farms load factors averaging...

  • Press Releases

    Lack of headroom in RESS will see projects jostle for limited capacity

    The upcoming Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) has caused excitement across the industry and with between 1000GWh – 3000GWh available, the competition could be high. A key feature of the design for the RESS auctions is the carve-outs or “preference category” for several key areas: community projects, solar projects and...

  • Press Releases

    Cornwall Insight comments on negative wholesale prices recorded for the first time

    On 9 December the UK experienced a negative day-ahead trading price for the first time, with prices for 03:00 AM to 04:00 AM UTC delivery on the hourly day-ahead auction dropping to -£2.84/MWh. This was caused by exceptionally high wind generation in GB throughout the weekend combined with low demand...

  • Press Releases

    Analysing wind forecasting in the Irish energy market

    It is expected that Ireland will see greater penetration of wind generation in the next 20 years. According to the Tomorrow Energy Scenarios (TES) installed capacity forecast Ireland will have between 6GW to 8.2GW by 2040. With wind generation growth set to continue, forecasting wind accurately will become increasingly important....

  • Press Releases

    Scottish wind farms called upon in the Balancing Mechanism

    Management of wind resources is a critical tool for National Grid in dealing with system constraints, supply and demand imbalance and increasingly inertia*. Data from Cornwall Insight’s Balancing Mechanism (BM) Service highlights that wind was the first-most utilised renewable technology asked to turn down in the BM. Further analysis also...

  • Press Releases

    Network charging could dampen renewables optimism in Northern Scotland

    Northern Scotland is home to a significant proportion of GB renewables, mainly onshore wind capacity. The region is likely to be a leader in new capacity developments too, with 800MW of Remote Island Wind (RIW) projects looking to develop in the Scottish Isles under the Contract for Difference (CfD) scheme....

  • Press Releases

    Scale of future onshore wind and solar PV deployment

    Cornwall Insight looks further into the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) that was issued last week. The REPD tracks the progress of renewable projects through the planning system and is used as a good indicator of future renewable deployment. The chart below shows the capacity of onshore wind and solar...

  • Press Releases

    The future of wind in Australian V Great British energy markets

    Wind is set to become a dominant source of power as governments look to reduce their carbon emissions and although technology and wind resources are similar across the world the risk and values that wind power creates is primarily driven by the characteristics of the markets. The latest insight paper...

  • Press Releases

    Can market driven subsidy-free PPAs deliver deeper, wider decarbonisation?

    In a week in which the prospect of legislating for net-zero is again in the headlines, a solid prospectus for delivering deeper and wider power sector decarbonisation has never been more critical. A positive outcome of the closure of subsidy schemes has been the way in which resilient and adaptable...

  • Press Releases

    GB can meet carbon budgets without new nuclear plants, but urgent policy direction is needed

    Findings from Cornwall Insight’s Benchmark Power Curve ­– a comprehensive market and asset-level power price modelling service – shows that meeting GB’s fourth and fifth carbon budgets without commissioning new nuclear capacity is a real possibility. Not only this, but the forecasts predict that meeting these targets can be achieved...

  • Press Releases

    Offshore wind could beat onshore wind on cost, but planning restrictions are key

    Currently, onshore wind is one of the cheapest sources of renewable power. However, without change to planning restrictions, Cornwall Insight has estimated offshore wind is likely to surpass onshore wind power to be the new source of cheap renewable energy in less than ten years. Offshore wind has seen significant...