UK: "Low auction budget puts UK offshore wind at risk" (WindEurope)

With an initial budget of £900m for conventional bottom-fixed offshore wind and £180m for floating wind for its next offshore wind auction round (Allocation Round 7, or AR7), as announced on 28/10/2025, the UK Government allocated less investment capacities than it did for AR 6, which had finally been funded with £1,555 Bn.

"The UK Government has announced a low budget for its next offshore wind auction round. This is disappointing. It undermines the growth of offshore wind in the UK - and the outlook for whole of Europe’s offshore wind industry.

This would “buy” only 5 - 6 GW of capacity in the auction. The UK currently has 12.5 GW in offshore wind and wants 50 GW by 2030. They have only this auction and the one next year to deliver that. The proposed budget would leave the UK falling well short.
Crucially, with this budget, the UK would miss out on £53 Bn in private investment and 45,000 jobs. Every gigawatt of offshore wind brings £2-3 Bn to the UK. And they’ve got the projects ready to deliver these benefits. More than 20 GW of offshore wind are ready to bid in this…