German utility RWE has secured the largest share of capacity in the UK’s Allocation Round 7 (AR7) offshore wind auction, winning Contracts for Difference (CfDs) for 6.9 gigawatts of the 8.4 GW awarded, according to official results.
The outcome follows a decision by the UK government to double the auction budget to £1.8 billion from an initial £900 million after reviewing submitted bids. In total, bids with a budget value of £7.4 billion were received in the round, the results publication showed.
RWE was awarded a strike price of £91.20 per megawatt hour (in 2024 prices) for its 3 GW Dogger Bank South project and the 3.1 GW Norfolk Vanguard development, both located off the east coast of England. The company also secured a CfD for 775 MW at the Awel Y Mor offshore wind project in the Irish Sea.
SSE was the only other successful bidder in the fixed-bottom category, winning a CfD for 1.4 GW from its 4.1 GW Berwick Bank project at a strike price of £89.49/MWh.
Delivery years for the fixed-bottom projects are set at 2028–29 for Norfolk Vanguard and 2030–31 for the remaining capacity.
Two floating offshore wind projects were also awarded CfDs: Blue Gem Wind’s 100 MW Erebus project in the Celtic Sea and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ 92.5 MW Pentland project off northern Scotland. Both secured contracts at £216.49/MWh.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said AR7 fixed-bottom prices equate to £64.23–65.45/MWh in 2012 prices, compared with £58.87/MWh achieved in the previous AR6 auction. It added that clearing prices were around 20% below the bidding cap of £113/MWh for fixed-bottom offshore wind.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the auction outcome strengthened the UK’s energy independence. “This is a historic win for those who want Britain to stand on our own two feet, controlling our own energy rather than depending on markets controlled by petrostates and dictators,” he said.
“It is a monumental step towards clean power by 2030 and the price secured in this auction is 40% lower than the alternative cost of building and operating a new gas plant,” Miliband added.
Chris Stark, head of the government’s Mission Control for clean power, said the results delivered record capacity despite challenges facing the sector. “Amid global headwinds and pressures facing the offshore wind sector in recent years, we’ve secured a record amount of capacity at a competitive price for the consumer,” he said.
The results come after Danish developer Ørsted cancelled a CfD secured in AR6 for its 2.4 GW Hornsea 4 project, citing market conditions, highlighting the cost pressures facing offshore wind developers.
