Next CfD rounds ‘need to deliver record capacity’

The next two CfD auction rounds need to secure record amounts of renewable capacity to ensure the Government's 2030 clean power target is achieved, according to a new report.

Cornwall Insight said the 2025 and 2026 rounds also must at least double the 2024 auction total.

Although the latest AR6 auction secured record levels of capacity - 5GW of offshore wind, 900MW of onshore wind, and 3.3GW of solar PV – the report said that was significantly short of what’s needed in the next two years.

“Meeting the ambitious targets will demand an allocation round budget in line with the scale of the challenge, alongside a surge in new project developments to come through the pipeline,” said Cornwall Insight.

It said market uncertainty, funding shortages, international competition for investment, long grid connection queues, protracted planning permission processes, and supply chain bottlenecks all risk slowing progress.