The UK government has secured a record 4.9 GW of solar capacity in its latest contracts for difference (CfD) auction round, at a clearing price of GBP 65 ($88) per MWh.
AR7 awarded contracts to 1.87 GW of capacity across 72 projects due to come online by 2028, and 3 GW of capacity to 85 projects due by 2029.
Successful developers will now be awarded a 20-year flat rate contract with the state-owned Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC).
CfDs have been a key part of the UK government’s renewables strategy since the first auction opened in October 2014.
There was a step change in solar capacity succeeding at auction in the sixth allocation round, when nearly 3.3 GW was allocated across 90 projects – a record at the time.
The increase in solar capacity assigned through UK CfDs comes as the government pursues ambitious deployment targets, aiming to more than double PV capacity from 21.5 GW recorded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) in December 2025 to at least 45 GW by 2030.
