Offshore wind in the UK and EU: long-term tailwind or just short-term gust?

On 14 January 2026, the UK announced the results of its latest Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction for offshore wind, allocation round 7 (AR7). In total, seven projects with a combined capacity of 8.4 GW were awarded CfDs, making AR7 Europe’s largest offshore wind auction to date. The vast majority of this capacity, 8.2 GW, was awarded to bottom-fixed projects, while two floating offshore wind projects totalling close to 200 MW also secured CfDs.