The UK awarded 157 solar projects totaling 4.9 GW in CfD AR7, the highest solar capacity ever procured in a single round
Most solar capacity will be delivered by 2028–29, with the majority of projects located in England, and smaller shares in Scotland and Wales
Solar PV cleared at £65.23/MWh, below the price cap and cheaper than new onshore wind – under half the cost of building and operating new gas-fired power stations
The UK government’s Allocation Round 7 (AR7) under the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme has concluded with a record procurement of solar capacity, awarding 157 projects totaling 4.9 GW.
Of the winning facilities, 72 projects representing 1.87 GW solar capacity are required to come online by 2027-28, followed by 85 facilities with over 3.03 GW capacity becoming operational by 2028-29. Most of the winning PV capacity (4.25 GW) will be located in England, with the remaining 331 MW in Scotland and 326.8 MW in Wales.
Solar follows 8.4 GW of offshore wind capacity awarded in January 2026, which will be built as 12 fixed and floating projects. A total of 28 onshore wind facilities secured 1.3 GW, followed by 4 tidal wave projects winning 20.9 MW capacity.
Against the administrative strike price (ASP) or price cap of £75/MWh, solar PV secured a clearing price of £65.23/MWh, representing savings of 13.03%. Solar PV beats new onshore wind’s £72.24/MWh – both under half the £147/MWh cost of building and operating new gas power stations.
Solar Energy UK, the solar energy association, attributed the drop in price to lower module prices and economies of scale, along with the extension of CfD contracts by 5 years, from 15 years earlier to 20 years now. This improves bankability and lowers auction prices while maintaining investors' rate of return, it highlights.
AR7 was divided into 2 lots – AR7 devoted to offshore wind and AR7a for all non-offshore wind technologies, including solar PV (see UK Sets £310 Million Budget For CfD Allocation Round 7A).
Altogether, AR7 is now the UK’s largest awarded CfD round with 14.7 GW capacity across 210 projects. In the AR6 round, the UK awarded 9.6 GW capacity and 10.6 GW in AR4. In the previous round, solar PV secured 3.28 GW for a strike price of £50.07/MWh against an ASP of £61/MWh (see United Kingdom Selects Over 9.6 GW RE Capacity For Allocation Round 6).
“These results demonstrate the enormous contribution the CfD is making to Great Britain’s electricity system,” said Neil McDermott, the Chief Executive of Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC), which manages the CfD contracts. “Together these projects will provide new renewable electricity generation at scale, particularly when paired with the record offshore wind capacity contracted in AR7.”
Solar Energy UK said that when combined with corporate power purchase agreement (PPA)-backed solar farms and merchant projects, the secured PV capacity broadly matches the level needed to reach 54–57 GW of solar by 2030, in line with the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. This total includes 9–10 GW of rooftop solar, in addition to the plan’s target of 45–47 GW of utility-scale solar (see UK Unveils Solar Roadmap to Hit 47 GW Solar by 2030).