CfD Allocation Round 8 Announced for July 2026

On Sunday 15 March 2026 the Government announced that it plans to bring forward the next renewables contract for difference auction to July 2026, as part of the measures to go “further and faster” in the pursuit of national energy security.

This announcement will be welcome by all involved in the UK renewables sector and is a clear statement of intent with regards the Government’s energy policy at a time when some are calling for change. 

Everyone looking to participate in AR8 will now need to:

• commit resource to finalising and obtaining any final project contracts and consents, completing application forms, pulling together the relevant documentary evidence and cross checking details; and
• keep a close eye on the Government’s response to the recent consultation on Proposed refinements for Allocation Round 8 and future rounds (AR8 Consultation) and on the Delivery Years and allocation round details for AR8 as and when they are published. 

The AR8 Consultation sets out a number of different proposals, but ones that some developers may be particularly interested in include:

• a revised hybrid metering approach that might facilitate different revenue structures for projects comprising co-located technologies, of which one element is subject to a CfD (with the metering changes proposed to be applied retrospectively to all projects with a CfD);   
• permitting the Delivery Body to accept new documentary evidence as part of a Tier 1 appeal to correct or rectify minor errors and omissions in applications. A large number of applications submitted as part of AR7 were determined not to meet the prequalification criteria on the basis of missing information, missing documents and/or conflicting details. The Appeals Register for AR7 indicates that there were over 35 appeals to Ofgem in relation to the Delivery Body’s AR7 eligibility determinations and whilst some projects simply did not achieve what was required in order to be eligible to participate by the relevant deadline, it is clear from the facts relating to a number of the appeals that had the relevant application undergone a second and/or external review, a successful outcome may have been achieved. As a result, any change that helps reduce the number of appeals based on administrative errors finding their way before Ofgem will be welcome, with developers also having the option to potentially procure an external review of applications to try and avoid qualification disputes in the first place;
• the permanent prohibition on capacity relinquished from projects that are the subject of a CfD being permitted to participate in other CfD allocation rounds; and
• the proposed requirement for Schedule 5 of the AR8 Allocation Framework to be updated to require an applicant to hold a “Gate 2 Connection Agreement”. Bearing in mind the potential auction date (yet to be confirmed) and the revised NESO timeline for the issuing of Gate 2 Offers which refers to Gate 2 offers being issued up to mid-March 2027, it is clear that this proposal (if implemented without amendment) may present some timing challenges for certain projects.

Timely, clear, pragmatic and joined up decision making by Government, NESO and others will be important to make sure AR8 is a successful allocation round.

If you have any questions in relation to CfD Allocation Round 8, the CfD terms and conditions and/or would like assistance with preparing and/or reviewing any AR8 applications, please get in touch with Alec Whiter or James Phillips. 

This article was written by Alec Whiter.