A record number of clean energy projects have won contracts in the sixth allocation round (AR6) of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme.
The government has published the full results this morning, which confirm that 131 projects were successful at a combined total capacity of 9.6GW – more than double last year’s round and enough to power the equivalent of 11 million homes. This makes AR6 the most successful CfD round yet.
The round has also delivered value for money for consumers, with strike prices for successful technologies well below the ceiling prices set by government.
Results in detail
Nearly 5GW of the capacity will come from offshore wind, including the two largest offshore windfarms in Europe. This represents a big step forward from last year’s round, which secured no offshore wind projects.
A record 93 solar projects will provide around 3.3GW of capacity, increasing the UK’s current installed capacity by 20%. Additionally, 22 onshore wind projects will provide around 1GW of capacity.
Winning projects from emerging technologies include the largest floating offshore wind project in the world. At 400MW, this project is double the size of Europe’s total installed capacity of this technology.
A further six tidal stream projects have also secured contracts. Over half of the world’s tidal stream deployment is situated in UK waters.
The successful projects will provide power from 2026 onwards and will bolster the UK’s energy independence, helping to protect families and businesses from global gas price shocks.
Further information