The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is aiming to open the seventh Allocation Round (AR7) of its Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction on August 7, according to a government notice.
The application window for the auction is scheduled to run until August 27, with provisional delivery years assigned to various renewable technologies. Fixed and floating offshore wind projects are tentatively set for delivery in 2028-29 and 2029-30, while onshore and remote islands wind, along with solar projects, are provisionally slated for 2027-28 and 2028-29.
A DESNZ spokesperson told Reuters: “The indicative timeline confirms that we intend to open the round on 7 August 2025. We expect the key milestones set out in the timeline to be those that we follow throughout AR7, but any changes will be communicated via the CfD website.”
Final confirmation of delivery years will be announced ahead of the auction’s launch.
The AR7 auction is expected to be a critical mechanism for meeting the UK government’s Clean Power 2030 targets by securing new renewable energy capacity. However, the government has yet to release the detailed core parameters for the tender.
Among the proposed reforms for AR7 is a potential change allowing fixed-bottom offshore wind projects without planning consent to participate. Additionally, DESNZ is considering adjusting regulations to permit publication of the Contract Budget Notice later in the allocation process, rather than the current requirement of issuing it 10 days before the application window opens.
Based on timelines from last year’s AR6 auction, which lasted just over five months, the release of AR7 results may be tight before the end of 2025.
