- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Bosnia floods kill 14 people
- Tennis world number one Swiatek splits with coach Wiktorowski
UK announces record green energy auction
The UK on Tuesday said it had awarded a record 131 new green infrastructure projects in a single auction, including plans for Europe's two biggest offshore windfarms.
The new Labour government hailed the outcome to power millions of homes across the island nation with cleaner energy and which followed a similar unsuccessful auction in 2023 under the previous Conservative administration.
"We inherited a broken energy policy, including last year's disastrous auction round which gave us no successful offshore wind projects," Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said in a statement.
He said the UK had "achieved a record-setting round for enough renewable power for 11 million homes, essential to give energy security to families across the country.
"It is another significant step forward in our mission for clean power by 2030 -- bringing Britain energy independence and lower bills for good," Miliband added.
The auction awarded contracts for nine new offshore wind projects, including for what will be Europe's largest and second largest windfarms, Hornsea 3 and Hornsea 4 off the Yorkshire coast in northern England.
There were also contracts for onshore wind, solar and tidal energy projects.
But Greenpeace UK's political campaigner, Ami McCarthy, said the new plans amounted to only half the offshore wind needed to meet the government's 2030 target.
"This urgently needs to be followed up with a much bigger auction next year, as well as investment for faster grid connections, better planning, and more storage to hold the green power for when it's needed," she added in a separate statement.
Labour increased the new contract budget by 50 percent to attract more business after industry groups blamed last year's lack of bidders on contract prices being set too low.
Soon after winning election in July, new Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government launched Great British Energy, a public-owned body that intends to spur investment in domestic renewable projects.
A.Seabra--PC