The UK Government has announced the budget for the seventh Contracts for Difference, Allocation Round 7, setting £1.08 billion (in 2024 prices) aside to support offshore wind.
This includes:
- Pot 3 (general offshore wind): £900 million
- Pot 4 (floating offshore wind): £180 million
Analysis by ORE Catapult suggests the funding could support between 2.9 GW and 4.7 GW of fixed-bottom projects. The floating pot has the potential to support around 290 MW of floating wind, about half of the eligible floating projects in the current pipeline.
The current overall budget will support less than a quarter of eligible offshore wind projects in the current pipeline. Industry bodies have been calling for the UK Government to reconsider the budget to enable a greater number of successful projects in Allocation Round 7.
Allocation Round 7 results are expected on 14th January 2026
Read ORE Catapult’s full response here.