SSE Renewables has been successful in the UK’s fourth contract for difference (CfD) allocation round for its £566 million Viking Energy Wind Farm (Viking) project.
The firm said that securing a CfD for the Shetland Islands wind farm ‘stabilises’ the revenue from the project whilst also delivering price security for bill payers.
It means that it has a guaranteed strike price set on 2012 prices, but annually indexed for CPI inflation for the contracted low carbon electricity it will generate for a 15-year period. SSE revealed the strike price sits at £46.39 MWh for the 2026/27 delivery year.
Once complete in 2024, SSE said that Viking will be the UK’s most productive onshore wind farm in terms of annual electricity output, with the project also contributing to Shetland’s security of supply by underpinning the HVDC transmission link that will connect the islands to the mainland for the first time.
Stephen Wheeler, MD of SSE Renewables, said, “We are delighted that Viking Energy Wind Farm has been successful in securing a 15-year contract in the UK’s fourth and highly competitive CfD allocation round. At SSE Renewables we’re taking action to deliver more of the sustainable and secure homegrown energy needed in the UK.
“Viking will be the most productive onshore wind farm in the UK when it enters operation from 2024, and will play a crucial role in decarbonising energy supply in the Shetland Islands as well as in Scotland. Through the delivery of onshore wind energy projects such as Viking, SSE Renewables is helping drive the delivery of SSE’s net zero acceleration programme (NZAP) which will see the company double our current 4GW installed renewable energy capacity to 8GW by 2026 and increase our annual renewable energy output fivefold to 50TWh by 2031.”
