UK to Launch Seventh CfD Auction in August, Offshore Wind Has Its Own AR7 Timeline

The UK government has published an indicative timeline for the Contract for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round 7 (AR7), stating that it expects to open the auction in August and announce the results between late 2025 and early 2026. The timeline for offshore wind projects is now separate from that for other technologies, which will enable the confirmation of results as soon as possible, according to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).

The planned AR7 timeline for offshore wind, including both fixed-bottom and floating wind, sets the auction opening date between 7 to 27 August 2025, with results expected to be in from the second half of December 2025 to the second half of February 2026, depending on non-qualifying applicants requesting a Tier 1 review and/or Tier 2 appeal.

Before the launch of the seventh CfD allocation round, the government will publish Clean Industry Bonus results. This is scheduled for June.

Next month, the Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC) will also publish Minor & Necessary Modifications Guidance, which provides advice on how an applicant may apply for a minor and necessary modification to the Standard Terms, on which potential CfD applicants can start early engagement in June.

The government will release statutory notices, including administrative strike prices, pot structure and delivery years in July and expects to have the framework for AR7 published the same month.

Before opening the seventh round in August, the government will also publish the final versions of the CfD Standard Terms and Conditions, the generic version of the CfD Agreement and contract variants for AR7, and invite potential applicants to make their formal request to LCCC for minor and necessary modifications.

After the completion of the AR7 qualification, bidding and allocation processes, the government expects to sign CfD contracts with the selected offshore wind developers between January and the end of March 2026.

In the meantime, DESNZ is running further consultation on one of the changes proposed for AR7, which involves relaxing eligibility requirements for unconsented fixed-bottom offshore wind projects.

The government already held a consultation on this in February/March, which it says attracted a wide range of views on the proposal. On 27 May, DESNZ invited feedback on potential technical and drafting amendments that would be required to the scheme rules and contract terms to ensure the practical implementation of this policy, should the government decide to proceed with it. The government says it is considering its response to stakeholder feedback on this proposal and will confirm its final decision later this summer, before AR7 opens to applications.

The UK government has proposed several changes to the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme for Allocation Round 7 (AR7), including extending phasing, which is currently only available for fixed-bottom offshore wind, to floating wind in CfD Allocation Round 7.

Many of the reforms to the CfD scheme were set out in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan the DESNZ issued in December 2024. The action plan is a roadmap to an (almost) fully clean power system in the UK by 2030, with clean sources making up 95 per cent of Great Britain’s electricity generation and gas being used for no more than 5 per cent of total generation.