Electricity prices ‘must rise by 70pc to pay for more wind farms’

That will only happen if developers are paid the right money, Mr Glover said.

He said: “We need to see a materially higher price. Every project is different but £65 to £75 feels about the right range.

Ana Musat, policy director at RenewableUK, the wind industry’s trade body, said: “International competition to secure private investment in clean energy projects is intense as other countries are seeking to lure developers away from the UK to work elsewhere.

“We cannot afford a repeat of what happened in this year’s auction, so the success of the next one is vital if we’re to reassure investors and build up our offshore wind supply chain.”

Generators may never make a profit if the strike price is set too low, which is why the last round failed.

Many in the industry believe the failure of the last round was avoidable with Grant Shapps, then the energy secretary, given repeated warnings that the £44 strike price was too low.

Mr Glover said: “The industry warned the Government about this. We’d seen a global increase in costs of up to 40pc and demand was also booming because, post-Ukraine, everybody wants more energy independence. 

“The industry warned the Government but it decided not to increase the prices.”

Inflation hitting the sector means some developers also pulled out of existing projects. In July, Vattenfall announced it was halting development of the Boreas offshore wind farm, which was slated to add 1.4Gw of generating capacity.

Mr Glover estimated the Government’s failure to respond to inflation in energy projects had delayed UK offshore wind development by up to two years.

RWE is a German firm but has operations across Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America, collectively employing 19,000 people. 

In the UK, it supplies 15pc of the nation’s electricity – making it the biggest single power generator with an output sufficient for 14 million homes.

That power comes from a fleet of gas-fired power stations, hydroelectric plants and more than a dozen offshore wind farms in operation or under development.

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesman said it was planning “appropriate adjustments” to the contracts for difference offered to offshore wind developers.

The spokesman said: “We have contracted 20GW of offshore wind since 2014 – cementing the UK as a world leader in the technology with the five largest operational wind farms in the world off our shores.

“The Government remains committed to its ambition for 50GW of offshore wind, including up to 5GW floating wind, by 2030.”

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