With an annual energy bill of £1.5bn, the UK government has a large amount of spending power in the energy market.
“This pilot will take us a step further towards our goal of hedging more of our energy needs against future price fluctuations – protecting the taxpayer,” said Francis Maude, minister for the Cabinet Office.
The £25m worth of contracts are to supply 2% of the 11.2 terawatt-hours of energy consumed every year, but it’s a figure that could rise to 50% should this initial phase prove successful.
The government said that the initiative – which will be open to operators of non-intermittent renewable energy plants – would help to finance the small-scale renewable industry, 150 of which are struggling to gain funding currently.
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