The Commission recommends that government should set out a pipeline of pot 1 Contracts for Difference auctions, to deliver at least 50 per cent renewable generation by 2030, as part of the transition to a highly renewable generation mix. Government should:
- Move technologies that have recently become cost competitive, such as offshore wind, to pot 1 following the next Contracts for Difference auction in Spring 2019. Pot 1 should be used for the overwhelming majority of the increase in renewable capacity required.
- Publish indicative auction dates and budgets for the next decade by 2020.
- Over time take whole systems costs into account in Contracts for Difference auctions, as far as possible.
- Consider whether there is a case for a small-scale, pot 2 auction in the 2020s, if there are technologies which are serious contenders for future pot 1 auctions.
- Not agree support for more than one nuclear power station beyond Hinkley Point C, before 2025.