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| Eight renewable energy projects approved | Eight renewable energy projects approved |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Eight major renewable energy projects, expected to support 8,500 jobs, have been given government approval. | Eight major renewable energy projects, expected to support 8,500 jobs, have been given government approval. |
| The contracts, which include offshore wind farms and conversions of coal-powered plants to run on biomass, are the first awarded under the government's energy market reforms. | The contracts, which include offshore wind farms and conversions of coal-powered plants to run on biomass, are the first awarded under the government's energy market reforms. |
| Energy Secretary Ed Davey said the projects would help power up to three million homes. | Energy Secretary Ed Davey said the projects would help power up to three million homes. |
| He also expects them to attract £12bn in private investment. | He also expects them to attract £12bn in private investment. |
| The eight projects will all receive one of the government's Contracts for Difference (CfDs), which effectively guarantee prices for renewable energy suppliers. | The eight projects will all receive one of the government's Contracts for Difference (CfDs), which effectively guarantee prices for renewable energy suppliers. |
| These could cost up to £1bn each year in subsidies, but the government says they would encourage firms to invest much more than that in low-carbon electricity generation. | |
| The approved schemes include offshore wind farms in Liverpool bay, and off the Moray, Norfolk and Yorkshire coasts. | |
| 'Secure, clean energy' | |
| Mr Davey said there were more potential renewable energy projects than the government was able to back, and if one of the eight initial projects did not go ahead, then another similar project would be supported. | |
| "We are confident that the eight will go ahead, but if a company decides not to go ahead.... there will be another one queuing up behind," Mr Davey told the BBC's Today programme. | |
| "These investments are critical to make sure we have got secure, clean energy," he said, pointing to energy supply issues arising from the Ukraine crisis. | |
| Mr Davey also said the projects would add nearly 5% to the UK clean energy supply. | |
| "These are the first wave of our reforms, designed to stimulate investment in low carbon energy, but in a more affordable way than previously," he said. | |
| However, he added that the measures would add 2% to household energy bills by 2020. |