The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has announced the opening of its CfD Allocation Round 7. Solar PV projects over 5 MW are eligible to compete within pot 1, where they will compete with onshore wind, sewage gas, remote island wind, hydro, landfill gas, and energy from waste with CHP generation sources. Applications will be open until 27 August 2025 and results are expected between 9-10 December 2025 at the earliest and 25-26 February 2026 at the latest, depending on the scenario.
In February 2025 the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) launched a consultation on a series of proposed reforms to its existing Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme to facilitate the development and connection of green energy projects to the grid. Some of the introduced changes are longer CfD’s (20 years) to provide financial certainty for developers and investors, earlier eligibility for projects still in the planning stages, and support measures like the Clean Industry Bonus to encourage investment in UK-based suppliers.
There have been six CfD allocation rounds, with the CfD AR6 delivering a total of 128 projects with a combined capacity of 9.6 GW, most of which were offshore wind, and with a further 23 GW contracted and expected to become operational by 2030. The UK aims to have 43-50 GW to reach clean power by 2030, with about 30.7 GW of offshore wind installed or committed projects, and an additional 7.2 GW of allocated capacity so far.
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