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The list of projects expected to win early approval for subsidies has shrunk to nine after GDF Suez withdrew Beinn Mhor onshore windfarm earlier this month.
The 39-turbine windfarm planned for the Isle of Lewis is no longer eligible due to delays to the Western Isles Transmission Link needed to connect it to the grid.
A GDF Suez spokesperson said “a number of issues need to be resolved” but the company “remains committed” to developing the project.
A spokesperson for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) said the withdrawal “does not release sufficient budget” for another project to join the affordability list.
There are now 15 renewable projects qualified for early approval for support through contracts for difference (CfDs). The developers have been invited to submit binding applications by March to confirm they want an investment contract.
However, Decc announced in December early approval would be rationed and six projects were unlikely to fit the budget.
The go-early pot was further split by technology. Biomass conversion at Drax made the cut but similar plans at neighbouring Eggborough were shut out, leading the coal generator to announce its closure.
Four out of seven offshore windfarms made the list while Beinn Mhor’s exit leaves just Ecotricity’s Heckington Fen in the onshore wind category. A dedicated biomass plant with CHP in Teesside was also named as provisionally affordable.
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