Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of whether the funding in Contracts for Difference allocation round 4 will be sufficient to cover floating wind projects in both the North Sea and the Celtic Sea.

Government sees floating wind as a vital component of the UK’s energy mix as the UK moves towards net zero. Therefore, it has committed to delivering at least 1GW floating capacity by 2030. In the draft budget notice for the 4^th Contracts for Difference round, the Government announced ringfenced support for floating offshore wind.

The UK is a global leader in this technology, with more installed capacity than any other country in the world. The Government believes there is a real opportunity to develop this position to create a strong domestic industry, generating high-skilled jobs and driving investment. The Government has committed up to £160m to develop UK ports and the floating wind supply chain, part of a £380m package over the next four years to support the development of the offshore wind industry in the UK.