The government has announced that 6GW of clean and green renewable energy will be joining the grid in the next six years as the next milestone in achieving a net-zero-carbon economy by 2050. As a result, around 8,000 jobs in renewables are now being sustained in the UK, particularly in offshore wind.

After the latest round of Contracts for Difference tendering, 12 new clean energy projects will provide electricity to more than seven million homes - and at record-low costs.

The new round of capacity building will provide 2.4GW more than in the previous round. This will also be the first time that renewable energy has come online at a price that is below the market and without any need for subsidies. This means that customers will not need to pay any subsidy margin on their bills.

When compared to the last auction held in 2017, offshore wind costs are now around a third lower. Projects can be delivered for as little as £39.65 per MWh.

The Contracts for Different scheme is the main route for the government to support clean energy after it closed previous subsidy systems. It offers a stable income for projects to encourage private investment whilst ensuring that customers do not pay for subsidy payments to producers.

New projects under the CfD have been awarded for technologies that include offshore wind, remote island wind and advanced conversion technologies, which divert waste from landfill.

Britain has the world's biggest installed capacity for offshore wind generation, at around 8GW in place by the end of last year, and an expected figure of 10GW by 2020.

Government estimations suggest that Britain's low-carbon economy could grow fourfold compared to the broader economy as a whole up to 2030 and deliver up to £170 billion in exports