UK awards 8.4 GW in Europe’s largest offshore wind auction ever

The UK's latest offshore wind auction awarded 8.4 GW, making it the biggest offshore wind auction in Europe to date. Strong competition led to competitive average prices of £91.20/MWh in England and Wales and £89.49/MWh in Scotland. These results reinforce offshore wind's role as the most competitive large-scale clean electricity generation technology.

The UK's latest offshore wind allocation round (AR7) awarded 8.2 GW of bottom-fixed and almost 200 MW of floating offshore wind projects, making it the biggest offshore wind auction in Europe to date. The awarded capacity will power the equivalent of almost 10 million homes.

AR7 was one of the most competitive offshore auctions ever held in Europe. A record 19 projects with a total potential capacity of 24 GW were eligible to bid. This healthy competition resulted in strike prices for fixed-bottom projects of £91.20/MWh in England and Wales, and £89.49/MWh in Scotland.

With these results offshore wind once again proved to be one of the best value options for European households and industry. The AR7 prices are around 40% lower than building and operating new gas plants in the UK (£147/MWh) and almost 30% lower than building and operating new nuclear plants in the UK (£124/MWh). The power generated by the 8.4 GW of new offshore wind farms will save billpayers nearly £1.7 billion a year compared to the alternative cost of gas.

A crucial moment for stability and long-term planning

The UK had seen a failed auction round in 2023 (AR5), creating uncertainty and delays. The following auction round (AR6) resulted in a more realistic strike price but did not bring enough new capacity forward. AR7 now marks a turning point with strong competition and a large pipeline of ready-to-build projects,

That's in good part thanks to the UK auction design which offers two-sided Contracts for Difference (CfD). These CfDs help de-risk offshore wind projects and offer long-term visibility on revenues. With a budget of £1.79 billion, The UK Government has gone beyond the initial budget of £1.1 billion, securing extra capacity to boost energy security and economic resilience.

Europe needs to follow the UK example

Other European Governments should follow the UK example. Earlier this year, the European wind industry proposed a New Offshore Wind Deal to speed up and de-risk the build-out of homegrown and competitive offshore wind energy. It calls on European Governments to coordinate an annual build out of 15 GW per year from 2031 to 2040, with 10 GW per year resulting from CfD auctions. In return, the industry pledged large private investments and further cost reductions.

The upcoming North Seas Summit in Hamburg is a unique opportunity to cement commitments from Government, Industry and TSOs to bring this forward, building on the success of AR 7 in the UK.

AR7 winning bits in detail

AR7 awarded 6 offshore wind projects and 2 floating wind projects.

The 192 MW awarded to floating wind projects today are another step towards commercial-scale clean floating wind deployment. To sustain this momentum and unlock its full potential, the industry needs tailored support schemes, a clear commitment to a timeline of floating-specific auctions, and strong infrastructure investment in ports.

Find an overview of all winning bits below: