Skip to main content

The UK significantly raises its strike caps for its next CfD renewable auction

The UK government has significantly raised the guaranteed price offered for renewable energies in its coming Allocation Round 6, increasing the maximum strike price by 66% for offshore wind from GBP44/MWh (€50/MWh) to GBP73/MWh (€83.5/MWh) and by 52% for floating offshore wind from GBP116/MWh (€133/MWh) to GBP176/MWh (€201/MWh). Besides offshore wind, the AR6 also increased the maximum bid prices for geothermal by 32% to GBP157/MWh (€180/MWh), solar by 30% to GBP61/MWh (€70/MWh) and tidal by 29% GBP261/MWh (€299/MWh). The call for auction is scheduled for March 2024. 

The past Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction round, launched in September 2022, yielded no offers for offshore wind projects, contrasting with 2022’s CfD round which allocated 7 GW of offshore wind capacity. 

The United Kingdom has the second largest offshore wind capacity in the world after China, with 13.8 GW (end-2022), accounting for 13% of the country’s capacity mix. The government aims to deliver up to 50 GW of floating wind by 2030.