Britain’s government has accepted proposals to expand the Clean Industry Bonus (CIB) under its Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme from Allocation Round 8, introducing new fair work and skills-related requirements for renewable energy developers, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said.
Under the changes, developers applying for the CIB will be required to sign up to an interim Fair Work Charter as part of the minimum standards attached to the incentive. The CIB was applied for the first time to fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind projects in Allocation Round 7.
DESNZ said suppliers named in CfD bids will also be required to sign up to the charter, although exemptions will be available for small businesses and newly established facilities.
Officials added that a third-party administered collaborative skills investment fund will be created ahead of a fully operational fund planned for 2027.
The government has also agreed to extend the CIB to onshore wind projects, though this will not take effect until Allocation Round 9, when payments of up to £25 million per gigawatt will be available. DESNZ said onshore projects entering the CfD auction without applying for the CIB will not be required to meet the new minimum standards.
The department said it received 48 responses to its consultation on the measures, which opened in August, and that legislation will be laid in parliament to implement the regulatory changes.
RenewableUK welcomed the reforms.
“The offshore wind industry is working closely with the government and trade unions to ensure that we maximise the number of high-quality, well-paid jobs we create through the introduction of the Fair Work Charter and a proposed new skills investment fund,” said Scott Young, RenewableUK’s director of renewable delivery.
“There are currently 40,000 people working in the sector, and we need to build on this by recruiting and retaining tens of thousands of skilled workers in the years ahead to design, construct and operate the UK’s vast pipeline of offshore wind farms,” he added.
