In January 2026, the UK energy market will experience a milestone development. As the core achievement of its seventh round of contract for difference allocation, the UK Department for Energy Security has successfully approved offshore wind projects with a total capacity exceeding 8.4 gigawatts, with a record breaking annual budget of £ 1.79 billion. This large-scale increase not only marks a new acceleration period for offshore wind power development in the UK, but also injects strong recovery signals and deterministic demand into the global wind power industry chain that has been under cost pressure in recent years.

The total amount exceeds 8.4 gigawatts

The results of this auction are remarkable, with a total approved capacity exceeding 8.4 gigawatts, setting a historical high for the scale of a single offshore wind power tender in the UK. In terms of specific distribution, in England and Wales, a total of 6.86 GW of fixed offshore wind power projects have been approved, involving multiple large project clusters such as Dogger Bank East and West, Norfolk Vanguard East and West, and Awel y M ô r. In Scotland, the Berwick Bank B project has obtained a fixed wind power capacity of 1.38 GW. In addition, significant breakthroughs have been made in floating wind power, with Erebus and Pentland projects obtaining approved capacities of 100 MW and 92.5 MW respectively, demonstrating the commercialization progress of cutting-edge technologies.

Rheinland Group becomes the biggest winner

Compared with the auction results in 2024, the winning electricity prices for various projects in this round have shown a significant increase, reflecting the adjustment of market conditions and the transmission of cost pressure. Among them, the bid price for fixed offshore wind power projects in England and Wales is £ 91.2 per megawatt hour, and the bid price for projects in Scotland is £ 89.49 per megawatt hour, both of which have increased by about £ 9 compared to last year. The price of floating offshore wind power has reached £ 216.49 per megawatt hour, a significant increase of £ 21.5 from last year. German energy giant Rheinland Group is the biggest winner of this auction, locking in a total of approximately 6.9 gigawatts of installed capacity through price difference contracts, becoming a key force in leading offshore wind power construction in the UK in the coming years. Keywords: Wind Power New Energy News, Wind Power Energy Network

Boosting long-term confidence in the industry

The approval of this large-scale project will have a profound impact on the global wind power industry ecosystem. International analysts pointed out that these projects planned to be put into production in succession from 2028 to 2031 will create huge long-term demand in all aspects, from wind turbines, infrastructure to offshore construction ships, and are expected to ease the pressure on the industry due to inflation and supply chain disruption since 2022. The analysis specifically mentioned that the final investment decision for global offshore wind power, excluding China, in 2025 is only 6.5 gigawatts, and the potential investment scale generated by the current auction in the UK alone is expected to exceed this total, which is an extremely positive signal for industry confidence. Although the increase in electricity prices may have a certain impact on future electricity consumption, market views believe that in the current environment, the level of electricity prices is still within a sustainable threshold, indicating that the industry has found a new stage balance point on the path of balancing costs and development. (This article is from the official website www.seetao.com of Jian Dao. Reproduction without permission is prohibited, otherwise it will be prosecuted. Please indicate Jian Dao website+original link when reprinting.) Jian Dao website wind power column editor/Gao Xue