The UK government has secured a record 7.4 gigawatts of solar, onshore wind and tidal power in its latest auction, with contracts for difference (CfDs) showing new renewables are 50% cheaper than new gas. The seventh auction round (AR7a) awarded contracts to 157 solar projects at £65 per megawatt hour and 28 onshore wind projects at £72/MWh.

Energy secretary Ed Miliband emphasized that these projects will be 50% cheaper than building and operating new gas power stations, helping cut consumer bills. The auction results show onshore wind and solar are now the cheapest sources of new electricity generation in the UK, with prices well below recent wholesale power averages of £81/MWh in 2025.

Combined with 8.4GW of offshore wind from the first AR7 round, this makes AR7 the UK's single-largest auction ever at 14.7GW of new renewable capacity - enough to power 16 million homes. The results mark a significant shift in UK energy policy since the Labour government lifted restrictions on onshore wind development in England, with Scotland dominating the wind contracts and Wales securing its largest-ever number of projects in a single auction.