Politique de contrats sur différence pour la production d'électricité renouvelable du Royaume-Uni

The UK's Contracts for Difference (CfD) policy, established in 2014, uses a competitive auction system to provide price certainty for renewable energy developers, significantly reducing financial risk and lowering the cost of capital. By bridging the gap between wholesale market prices and a fixed 'strike price' over 15-year contracts, the policy has driven down the cost of offshore wind by 65-75% since 2015. While the system is funded by consumers through electricity bills—making it regressive—it is administered by the independent Low Carbon Contracts Company to minimize political risk. The document suggests Canada could adapt this model for proven technologies like carbon capture and storage or clean hydrogen, emphasizing the need for competitive markets and independent administration.

• The UK's CfD policy reduces financial risk for the private sector by guaranteeing a stable revenue stream, which lowers interest rates for developers and attracts new market entrants, thereby increasing competition and reducing costs.
• The competitive auction mechanism has led to a substantial decrease in public costs per kilowatt, with the cost of offshore wind energy specifically dropping by 65% to 75% since the first auctions in 2015.
• The CfD structure is bidirectional: the Low Carbon Contracts Company pays producers when wholesale prices are below the strike price, but producers must pay back the company when wholesale prices exceed the strike price.
• The policy is administered by the Low Carbon Contracts Company, a state-owned entity that operates as an independent body, protecting contracts from political interference or cancellation.
• The funding model is regressive because it is financed by a statutory levy on electricity suppliers, who pass the costs to consumers via electricity bills, disproportionately affecting low-income households.
• The fourth allocation round, published in July 2022, added 93 new projects, bringing the total to 168 CfDs and adding nearly 11 gigawatts of power from solar, onshore and offshore wind, remote island wind, tidal power, and floating wind turbines.
• The UK government aims for net zero by mid-century and intends to decarbonize its electricity grid by 2035, seeking 90 billion pounds in private funding by 2030.

APA

Canadian Climate Institute (2023). Politique de contrats sur différence pour la production d'électricité renouvelable du Royaume-Uni. https://institutclimatique.ca/publications/politique-de-contrats-sur-difference-production-delectricite-renouvelable-du-royaume-uni/

Chicago

Canadian Climate Institute. Politique de contrats sur différence pour la production d'électricité renouvelable du Royaume-Uni. 2023. https://institutclimatique.ca/publications/politique-de-contrats-sur-difference-production-delectricite-renouvelable-du-royaume-uni/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Canadian Climate Institute |title=Politique de contrats sur différence pour la production d'électricité renouvelable du Royaume-Uni |date=14 February 2023 |url=https://institutclimatique.ca/publications/politique-de-contrats-sur-difference-production-delectricite-renouvelable-du-royaume-uni/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{canadianclimateinstitute2023politique, author = {{Canadian Climate Institute}}, title = {{Politique de contrats sur différence pour la production d'électricité renouvelable du Royaume-Uni}}, institution = {Canadian Climate Institute}, year = {2023}, month = feb, url = {https://institutclimatique.ca/publications/politique-de-contrats-sur-difference-production-delectricite-renouvelable-du-royaume-uni/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }