The Government cannot say that this auction flop was unforeseen. Wind farm builders had warned for months that the Government, which sets a maximum price that companies are allowed to charge, was not taking into account how much their costs had soared during the cost-of-living crisis, which has also pushed up prices for businesses.

This was an open goal that the Government missed. The UK has for years been a world leader in offshore wind, second only to China in the amount of power that its turbines can produce.

It is a success story that we should not only be doing more to champion but also looking to get further ahead with.

The world's second largest offshore wind farm located eight miles offshore in Liverpool Bay, off the coast of North Wales. PIC: Ben Birchall/PA Wire

There is a global race to lead on net zero and it is an economic as well as a moral imperative that the country gets ahead of the pack.

Despite the naysayers, offshore wind helped customers save hundreds of millions of pounds during the recent energy crisis so it clearly works.

If the Government can’t build on our offshore wind capabilities then what chance does it have when it comes to exploring frontier energy technologies?

What this failure also highlights is the need to create the right business environment for firms that can power us to net zero. As the boss of ScottishPower said after the result of the auction, “The economics simply did not stand up.”

Business confidence needs to be won over if the transition to net zero is going to be successful. Yet we have had a summer of mixed messages around Britain’s commitment to achieve net zero by 2050, including hundreds of new North Sea oil and gas licences being issued.

Offshore wind auction is an open goal missed by the Government - The Yorkshire Post says