The UK Government will award more than £200m annually for renewable energy projects as part of its first auction of contracts in building low-carbon electricity system.

The first auction of contracts-for-difference, to be held place in October, involves deals worth £50m a year available to more established technologies such as solar and onshore wind power.

The remaining £155m a year will be granted for less established technologies like offshore wind and biomass.

The renewable energy projects to compete for a part of the government’s reforms to the electricity market for reducing emissions from the power sector much more cheaply than through existing policies, around 6% lower on the average domestic electricity bill up to 2030.

UK Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said: “Our plan is powering growth and jobs as we build clean, secure electricity infrastructure for the future.

“By radically reforming the electricity markets, we’re making sure that decarbonising the power sector will come at the lowest possible cost to consumers.

“Average annual investment in renewables has doubled since 2010 – with a record breaking £8bn worth in 2013. We’re building a secure, low-carbon electricity system that will be the powerhouse of the British economy, supporting up to 250,000 jobs by 2020.”

At least a further £50m is planned for an auction around 2015 and a total of approximately £1bn for further projects, including carbon capture and storage, up to 2020-21.

RenewableUK director of policy Gordon Edge said: “Although we appreciate that it’s necessary to hold back budget for future years in order to allow potentially cheaper projects to come forward later, this initial release of the draft budget risks being insufficient to drive industrialisation, competition and cost reduction.”

The European Union’s installed wind capacity will increase 64% by 2020 when compared to 2013 levels, according to a new report by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA)

The new report revealed that the EU nations will install 75GW of wind energy in the next seven years to reach a total of 192.4GW.

Around 23.5GW of total estimated installations will be in the offshore wind sector, with up to €124bn of investments in wind farms by 2020 across the EU, creating more than 100,000 additional jobs in the wind industry.

The wind energy is expected to generate 442TWh of power by 2020, meeting 14.9% of EU electricity consumption, which will be 11% lower than it did in 2009.

European Wind Energy Association deputy chief executive officer Justin Wilkes said: “A cocktail of regulatory uncertainty, ongoing climate and energy discussions at EU level and rapidly evolving national frameworks has contributed to these new scenarios.

“However, while regulatory stability is still recovering in Europe, onshore markets such as Germany, France, United Kingdom and Poland will remain key for wind power installations.

“For offshore, extra confidence in the UK, continued deployment in Germany, and faster deployment in France and the Netherlands should continue to push the industry forward to 2020. It remains the fastest growing part of the power sector in Europe today.”

Nordex has secured three contracts totaling 64.2MW to install its N117/2400 and the N117/3000 turbines in Turkey.

Under the first contract, awarded by Erdem Holding, the company will supply seven N117/3000 Generation Delta turbines for the Odemis wind farm.

The contract also includes providing premium-service for a minimum period of five years.

Located south-east of Izmir, the Odemis wind farm will be equipped with N117/3000 turbines with a height of 91m.

The rotor blades, towers and anchor cages will be produced in Turkey. Under the Turkish feed-in legislation, this will enable Erdem Holding to claim a higher feed-in tariff for the project.

As part of the second contract, awarded by Edincik Enerji, the company will expand the 30MW Edincik wind farm to 56.4MW.

Nordex will provide 11 N117/2400 turbines for the Edincik wind farm located on the southern coast of the Marmara Sea.

Back in 2010 and 2012, the customer had ordered Nordex turbines for wind farms in the same region. The contract included a Nordex premium service agreement for six years.

The third contract was awarded by Bursa Temiz Enerji for the extension of the existing 25 MW Bandirma III wind farm.

Nordex will supply seven N117/2400 turbines that will expand the wind farm close to the port city of Bandirma in the Marmara Region to 41.8MW.

The extension of Bandirma III is the second wind farm project from Bursa Temiz Enerji with Nordex.

Siemens has completed installation of a fourth high-voltage direct current (HVDC) offshore platform in the North Sea, marking a step ahead for grid connections of sea-based wind farms.

Prior to the installation of the 864MW SylWin1 alpha converter platform, Siemens has completed the 690MW HelWin2 converter station near the German island of Heligoland, also in the North Sea.

Siemens is currently under a contract to implement a total of five North Sea grid connection projects for European electricity transmission system operator TenneT.

Located approximately 70km to the west of the island of Sylt, the 864MW SylWin1 platform will convert alternating currents coming from the Dan Tysk, Butendiek and Sandbank offshore wind farms into direct current.

The direct current will be transported to land through a 205km-long subsea cable.

The first four grid connections are due to take up commercial operation successively between the second half of 2014 and the first half of 2015 while the fifth grid connection is expected to go on-line in 2019.

Siemens AG Power Transmission and Smart Grid Divisions CEO Jan Mrosik said: “Once they have been commissioned, these grid connections will supply electricity from offshore wind power for around three million households.”

TenneT Germany offshore director Wilfried Breuer said: “In the past few days, we have erected two platforms in quick succession that will provide approximately 1.5GW of additional capacity for feeding offshore wind energy into the onshore transmission grid.

“The German Government has decided to increase the transmission capacity for offshore wind energy by 6.5GW in the period until 2020. In 2015, two-thirds of that target will already have been achieved.”

The UK Government has approved development of E.ON’s Rampion offshore wind farm off the Sussex coast.

Expected to support more than 750 jobs and bring in more than £2bn of investment into the UK’s economy, the wind farm will feature up to 175 turbines to be installed approximately 13km to 20km away from the coast.

UK Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said: “We’re driving investment in our energy security, and our plans have made us number one in the world for investment in offshore wind energy.

This project will provide Sussex county with green jobs and driving business opportunities right across the country, in a sector with a clear roadmap for long-term growth.

Onshore construction is due to commence in 2015, with the project planned to be completed in phases over the next four years.

E.ON Renewables chief operating officer Michael Lewis said: “This is a key milestone for the project and we firmly believe Rampion will play an important role in helping to ensure future security of supply and make a significant contribution towards meeting the UK’s renewable energy targets.”

Upon completion, the facility would generate enough electricity to power approximately 450,000 homes.

Rampion Wind Farm development manager Chris Tomlinson said: “The wind farm will not only help generate jobs during both construction and operation, but also provide a boost to the port regeneration at Newhaven and the local economy.”

The Crown Estate offshore wind head Huub den Rooijen said: “Today’s announcement for the Rampion wind farm is great news for the offshore wind industry and with nearly 12GW consented, including over 5GW in operation or under construction, this further reinforces why the UK remains one of the best places to invest in offshore wind globally.”

Siemens Energy has won a contract to supply turbines for a wind farm in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

Under the contract, the company will supply 12 direct-drive wind turbines, 11 model SWT-3.0-113 and one model SWT-3.0-101 turbine, for the Süderlügum publicly-operated wind farm.

Located around 20km from the North Sea coast, the Süderlügum wind farm is scheduled to be installed for late 2014.

Siemens will also provide service and maintenance for a period of 20 years to ensure the long-term economical operation of the wind farm.

Each turbine has a capacity to generate 3MW.

This onshore order from the coastal region of Nordfriesland is the third project with Siemens to be implemented by Reinhard Christiansen.

Reinhard Christiansen said: “Süderlügum is an important project for the local population that will make a collective contribution to the energy turnaround. As with our other two wind farms, Süderlügum will also supply clean electricity that is funded entirely by the public.”

Construction of the wind farm also represents a significant infrastructure project for the Nordfriesland region.

Siemens said that its Reactive Power at No Wind technology will help Suderlugum take advantage of renewable energy sources during calm weather.

Floating turbines could cut the cost of offshore wind power to below £85/MWh by the mid-2020s, according to an engineering design study by The Glosten Associates for the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI).

The new study revealed that the company’s PelaStar tension leg floating platform (TLP) could deliver further reductions as the technology matures and is designed to provide high capacity factors in wind speeds exceeding 10m per second in water between 60m and 1,200m deep.

The UK is said to have over a third of Europe’s potential offshore wind resource, which is enough to meet the power demand of the country nearly three times over.

The FEED study has shown that Glosten’s PelaStar TLP design could play a major role in reducing UK offshore wind energy costs.

The company said that the TLP technology is suitable for water depths from as low as 55m up to several hundred metres.

ETI Offshore Renewables programme manager Andrew Scott said the study has shown the potential for targeted innovation to reduce the cost of offshore wind energy. This project has shown that, by 2030, offshore wind could be delivering energy at costs similar to the lowest cost forms of low carbon generation.

“This project has already validated our earlier research into offshore wind which showed that that access to high wind areas which are reasonably close to shore will result in very competitive energy costs,” Scott said.

Glosten project manager William Hurley said: “We completed a substantial amount of engineering, design and model testing, as well as project execution planning and installation engineering, and are pleased to find the results have validated our earlier work. It shows a highly promising opportunistic path for the industry to achieve and exceed cost targets for the end of the decade and beyond to make it a commercially attractive option. We are ready for a full-scale 6MW demonstration project.”

SSE Renewables has selected GE to supply turbines for the Dunmaglass Wind Farm in Scotland.

Located near Inverness, the wind farm will be equipped with 33 GE 2.85-100 turbines, which are specially designed for this project. It will also feature a 70m tower so SSE Renewables and GE meet the associated planning conditions that require a maximum tip height of 120m.

The wind farm will have an installed capacity of 94MW, which will help the country to meet its renewable energy targets.

The Dunmaglass Wind Farm has been acquired by SSE from Renewable Energy Systems Group in May 2013.

The wind farm is located on Dunmaglass Estate, near Loch Mhor, in the Monadhliath Mountains.

The Scottish Government’s target for renewable electricity generation is for renewables to generate the equivalent of 100% of gross annual consumption by 2020 along with a new target of 50% by 2015.

GE general manager renewable energy business in Europe Cliff Harris said for the Dunmaglass Wind Farm, the company worked with SSE to create turbines specifically designed to meet the strict parameters set forth by the local planning authority, which restricted the maximum tip height to 120m.

“As wind energy continues its rapid growth in Scotland, we too are growing our business throughout the United Kingdom, and we are pleased to work again with SSE to help bring Scotland a cleaner power source,” Harris said.

In March 2014, SSE announced that GE will provide ten 1.6-MW wind turbines for the Langhope Rig Wind Farm in Scotland and this site is currently under construction.

Norwegian company Aibel has won a contract from Statoil for engineering work at the Hywind Scotland Pilot Park offshore wind farm.

As part of the NOK40m (£3.8m) contract, the company will carry out front end engineering and design (FEED) and engineering and management assistance (EMA) of substructures for the five new floating wind turbines.

The project comprises a FEED study and a subsequent detailed EMA phase.

Work on the project, which will be performed from Aibel’s offices in Oslo and Haugesund, will start immediately, with completion expected in 2017.

The turbines will be installed in the field off the east coast of Scotland.

Around 30 employees will be involved in the project.

The project will be carried out along with the subcontractor, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), Dr techn. Olav Olsen and Principa North.

“The Statoil award is a recognition of Aibel’s project organisation, together with some of Europe’s leading experts on structural analysis of offshore wind turbines. Now, together with the rest of our organisation, they will ensure high-quality implementation,” Statoil CEO Skogseth said.

Statoil has previously carried out a demonstration project of the Hywind concept on a smaller scale off Karmøy.

The Scottish Government has approved plans to build a 22-turbine wind farm in West Lothian.

Located near West Calder, the Harburnhead wind farm is capable of generating 66MW of electricity, which is enough to meet the power demands of 31,000 homes.

During the construction phase the wind farm is expected to create around 80 jobs.

Once operational, the development will generate approximately £9m for the local economy.

Enel Viento will build the wind power project and has collaborated with West Calder and Harburn Community Development Trust to provide a community fund to support local projects throughout the operational life of the wind farm.

Meanwhile, the government has rejected a similar wind farm proposal that is also near West Calder.

The 21-turbine Fauch Hill wind farm was rejected on the bases of unacceptable adverse visual and landscape impacts.

Energy minister Fergus Ewing said the Harburnhead wind farm will create jobs both in its construction and during its lifetime, and will be able to produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of 31,000 homes in West Lothian. The community fund that has been offered by the developer will bring considerable benefits to the local community.

“Scotland is already providing over a third of the UK’s renewable electricity generation and helping to keep the lights on across our islands at a time where there is an increasingly tight gap between electricity supply and demand,” Ewing said.

“We want to see the right developments in the right places, and that is why I have refused permission for the proposed wind farm at Fauch Hill, which I consider would have brought unacceptable impacts on the landscape, particularly the Pentland hills.”