The UK’s Department for Energy Security & Net Zero has completed its clean energy procurement through the Contracts for Difference (CfD) program’s Allocation Round 7 (AR7), securing a record 4.9 GW of solar capacity from 157 projects.

The AR7 results also cover onshore wind and tidal stream projects.

Onshore wind projects secured 1.3 GW across 28 projects, while tidal stream technology secured contracts for 20.9 MW across four projects.

Combined with the 8.4 GW of offshore wind capacity secured in January from 12 projects, the latest AR7 outcomes take the total clean power contracted across recent auctions to 14.7 GW.

The auction highlighted the cost competitiveness of renewable power compared with new fossil-fuel generation. Onshore wind projects cleared at an average price of £72.24 (~$98.56)/MWh in 2024 prices, while solar projects cleared at £65.23 (~$88.99)/MWh.

The two auction outcomes together represent the largest clean energy procurement in the UK, with 201 projects approved.

Both prices are less than half the estimated £147 (~$200.53)/MWh cost of building and operating new combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power stations at a 30% load factor. According to government data, the clearing price for onshore wind is 51% below the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of gas CCGT, while solar is 56% below it.

Estimated LCOEs for projects expected to commission in 2030 are £58 (~$79.12)/MWh for onshore wind and £60 (~$81.85)/MWh for large-scale solar, compared with £147 (~$200.53)/MWh for gas-fired generation under the same assumptions.

The AR7 auction is expected to unlock around £5 billion (~$6.82 billion) in private sector investment across the clean energy supply chain.

Key successful projects include the Imerys Wind Farm in Cornwall, England, and the Sanquhar II Wind Farm in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland.

In solar, the West Burton solar farm in England secured a CfD as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project and is now the largest solar farm ever to win a government renewables contract. The site is located at the former West Burton coal-fired power station.

The CfD program is the UK’s primary mechanism for supporting the deployment of low-carbon energy generation, incentivizing investments in renewable energy, and reducing capital costs by providing renewable energy project developers with high upfront costs and long lifetimes, while providing direct protection from volatile wholesale electricity prices.

In August 2025, the UK’s Department for Energy Security & Net Zero opened the application window for the seventh allocation round of the CfD program. This round has been divided into the offshore wind and non-offshore wind categories.