UK onshore auction round awards 1.3 GW of new wind energy

The UK has awarded Contracts for Difference for 1.3 GW of new wind energy capacity in its latest onshore auction round (AR7a). This comes after January’s successful offshore auction round (AR7). Across all awarded technologies – offshore wind, onshore wind, solar and tidal – AR7 and AR7a will add 14.6 GW of new renewable energy capacity. This will boost UK energy security, bring down electricity prices and strengthen industrial competitiveness.

Today the UK Government announced the winners of its latest onshore wind auction round for onshore wind, solar and tidal energy.

28 onshore wind projects with a total capacity of 1.3 GW secured contracts at an average strike price of £72.24/MWh (€83/MWh). The winning projects will generate enough electricity to power 1.2 million homes and help to lower electricity bills for UK households and businesses. The £72.24/MWh strike price is well below the wholesale market price for electricity in the UK.

The strike prices for onshore wind and solar also came in over 50% cheaper than the cost of building and operating new gas-fired power plants (£147/MWh) and over 40% cheaper than new nuclear power (£124/MWh) in the UK.

The auction results are good news for the UK economy. 70% of spending over the lifespan of a UK onshore wind turbine takes place within in the UK, creating jobs and lasting economic activity. Building and operating these wind farms, alongside investment in the solar and tidal projects confirmed in this auction, will support up to 10,000 jobs and bring £5bn in private investment to the UK.

But more could have been possible. 3.1 GW of onshore wind were eligible to bid in this auction round. They UK wants to reach 27-29 GW of onshore wind by 2030. They now need to procure a total of 7.7-9.7 GW over the next two onshore wind auctions.

14.6 GW of new renewables

This marks another successful auction round in the UK, after January’s offshore auction round AR7 – Europe’s largest offshore auction round to date – already awarded 8.4 GW of capacity. Across all awarded technologies – offshore wind, onshore wind, solar and tidal – AR7 and AR7a will add 14.6 GW of new renewable energy capacity over the coming years.

Onshore wind projects in Scotland, traditionally an onshore wind stronghold, secured 21 contracts. Welsh onshore wind signalled a comeback, securing 5 new contracts for a total capacity of 185 MW. After the de facto ban on onshore wind in England was lifted in 2024, the pipeline of English onshore wind projects is slowly filling. 2 successful bids came from England, including the largest onshore wind project to be successful in the country for a decade.

New measures for more local financial participation

Onshore wind is already an investment in local communities in the UK. The 1.3 GW of onshore wind projects awarded in AR7a will generate over £6.5m in community benefit funds for people living near them.

On top of that the UK Government today released its “Local Power Plan” which aims to help communities develop their own renewable energy projects and financially benefit from them. GB Energy, the UK’s public renewable energy developer, will play a key role in delivering the Local Power Plan by providing to £1bn in funding.