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The Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC) has withdrawn subsidies from a 15MW energy-from-waste project in Derbyshire.
Future Earth Energy secured a contract for difference (CfD) for the Drakelow Renewable Energy Centre in the most recent auction in 2017 at a strike price of almost £75/MWh (2012 prices).
The agreement has now been terminated after the developer failed to demonstrate sufficient progress on the project by its milestone delivery date.
LCCC has also announced that three further projects have passed their first delivery milestone. They consist of two energy-from-waste projects – Blackbridge (5.5MW) and Northacre Renewable Energy Centre (25.5MW) – as well as the Neart Na Gaoithe offshore wind project (448MW).
Auction winners must demonstrate their commitment to delivery by meeting one of several milestone requirements within 12 months of signing an agreement.
They must either incur at least 10 per cent of the expected development and construction costs, or provide evidence of their commitment, for example, by showing that financing has been secured and that contracts are in place for the purchase of generation equipment and the export of electricity.
Neart na Gaoithe secured a CfD in the first auction round in 2015 at a strike price of around £127/MWh. LCCC terminated the contract in March 2016 after the developer, Mainstream Renewable Power, failed to meet its deadline due to a long-running legal battle over planning permission initiated by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
The firm appealed against the decision and the following March an arbitration tribunal ruled the contract should be reinstated. EDF Renewables bought the project in May following a competitive bidding process.
The windfarm was originally set to feature a total of 125 turbines. The number has since been reduced to 64 and then 54 due to advancements in turbine designs, which have grown larger and more powerful over time. Mainstream Renewable Power submitted a fresh planning application for the project in March.
Back in October, LCCC revealed it had withdrawn CfDs from an 85MW energy-from-waste project in Scotland and a 50kW biomass project in Wales after they failed to fulfil their milestone requirements.
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