British company Centrica may back out of wind farm project

British energy company Centrica may abandon an offshore wind farm project because subsidies are too low, The Daily Telegraph reported. Three sources told the newspaper Sunday the company may back out of developing the $3.1 billion Race Bank wind farm planned off the Norfolk coast. The newspaper said Centrica did not comment on the project. In an October statement, the company said a final investment decision is expected next year. Centrica says the project, approved in 2012 by the British government, could generate enough power to meet the annual energy demands of 450,000 homes. The British government in June said energy companies starting a wind farm in 2015 would get about $245 for every megawatt-hour of power generated, a price the newspaper said was about three times the market price for electricity. The difference would be paid for in subsidies backed by consumer electric bills. The International Energy Agency, which has headquarters in Paris, said wind energy could meet 18 percent of the world's electricity needs by 2050, compared with 2.5 percent today if the right policies are in place. In August, the British government announced it was investing $100 million to stimulate the domestic wind-energy sector.