TO BE PUBLISHED July 2026
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This conference will consider next steps for the Contracts for Difference scheme.
The agenda will look at priorities for future allocation rounds, including approaches to auction design, eligibility, budget setting, and the role of supply chain incentives such as the Clean Energy Bonus in supporting the pace of project delivery. We expect a focus of discussion to be what will be needed if government targets for Clean Power 2030 are to be achieved.
Project pipelines
It will bring stakeholders and policymakers together to discuss how recent eligibility and delivery changes - including for projects involving the repowering of onshore wind and fixed-bottom offshore wind projects - can be taken forward in a way that supports a credible and investable project pipeline, effective competition, and timely delivery. Delegates will consider whether further refinements to CfD auction design and approaches to managing non-delivery risk may be required, alongside practical implications for planning scrutiny, investor confidence, and supply chain capacity.
Budgets & regulation
Sessions will look at implications of enhanced visibility of sealed bid information in budget-setting, including the Government’s decision to exceed initial budgets where value for money for consumers can be demonstrated. We expect discussion in areas such as how this approach may influence confidence in auction processes and bidder behaviour, alongside what it could mean for regulatory oversight. Options for appropriate boundaries will also be assessed, including reconciling greater flexibility in setting CfD allocation budgets and transparency with the protection of commercially sensitive information.
Supply chains & longer-term contracts
Further discussion will focus on contract duration reform for wind and solar, including implications of 20-year CfDs for strike prices, cost of capital, consumer exposure, and market flexibility over the contract lifecycle. The agenda will also examine the interaction of the expanded Clean Industry Bonus with wider industrial policy objectives. Options for achieving clarity and assurance in supply chain commitments will be considered, as well as how CfD reform will sit alongside related energy market developments, including proposals for reformed national pricing arrangements, approaches to reflecting location in pricing and investment decisions, and implications of grid connections reform for system readiness and delivery timelines.
Overview of areas for discussion
- AR7 outcomes: implications of rule changes for allocation results - competition and price discovery - approaches to delivery risk
- consents: appropriate prioritisation of projects that are sufficiently advanced - managing planning and consenting risk of earlier-stage bids - equal treatment across technologies
- offshore pipeline: managing accelerated deployment in the context of supply chain constraints - implications for port capacity, vessels, and manufacturing - implications for attracting investors
- onshore wind repowering: project eligibility and valuation - implications for competition, perceptions of overcompensation, and treatment of new entrants - effects on regional project pipelines
- budget setting: use of sealed bid visibility - transparency and accountability - managing incentives for strategic bidding behaviour
- confidentiality and scrutiny: protecting commercially sensitive information - maintaining confidence in process integrity - implications for regulatory and parliamentary oversight
- contract terms: effects of moving from 15 to 20 years - cost of capital and strike prices - trade-offs for consumer protection and flexibility
- Clean Industry Bonus: lessons from AR7 implementation - verifying sustainable supply chain criteria - compliance burdens and deliverability
- non-price factors: workforce skills and training - employment practices - supply chain commitment definition and auditability - alignment with wider procurement policy principles
- system readiness: wider market reform and grid policy - reflecting location and network charging in investment decisions - CfD timelines, grid connections reform and system delivery capability
