AR8 Watch

UK Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 8

Live tracker for AR8: administrative strike prices, the five possible auction timelines, delivery years, and what past rounds suggest about where bids will clear.

AR8 is the eighth competitive auction under the UK Contracts for Difference scheme, the government's main mechanism for supporting investment in renewable electricity generation. AR8 applications opened on 20 July 2026 and closed on 7 August. This page tracks the published AR8 parameters and timetable, and will fill in with results as soon as they reach the LCCC data.
Auction in progress — results pending
The application window closed on 7 August 2026. Depending on how many qualification appeals are lodged, results are expected between 27 November 2026 and 17 February 2027. This page updates automatically once AR8 contracts appear in the LCCC data.
AR8 Administrative Strike Prices

The ASP is the maximum a project can bid. Published by DESNZ on 6 July 2026 in 2024 prices. The indicative range applies the discounts actually observed for that technology in previous rounds, calculated from renDAQ's own contract and ASP data rather than a generic rule of thumb.

Technology Pot Administrative Strike Price Observed discount (past rounds) Indicative range
Floating Offshore Wind Pot 2 £271.00/MWh 20.1% – 28.4%
3 rounds · latest AR7 at 20.1%
£194.04 – £216.53/MWh
On AR7 discount: £216.53
Offshore Wind Pot 3 £113.00/MWh 14.4% – 25.3%
6 rounds · latest AR7 at 19.3%
£84.41 – £96.73/MWh
On AR7 discount: £91.19
Onshore Wind (> 5MW) Pot 1 £92.00/MWh 1.3% – 21.5%
5 rounds · latest AR7 at 21.5%
£72.22 – £90.80/MWh
On AR7 discount: £72.22
Solar PV (> 5MW) Pot 1 £75.00/MWh 0.0% – 17.9%
4 rounds · latest AR7 at 13.0%
£61.57 – £75.00/MWh
On AR7 discount: £65.25
Other Deepwater Offshore Wind Pot 2 £271.00/MWh No comparable round
New technology category introduced for AR8. No previous round to compare against. It shares the £271/MWh ceiling with floating offshore wind, which suggests DESNZ views the two cost profiles as broadly similar.
The indicative range spans the smallest and largest discounts this technology has previously cleared at relative to its ASP. It is an illustration of historical behaviour, not a forecast, and carries no guarantee. Actual clearing prices depend on the final budget, the bid stack, and competitive tension within each pot. Technologies with no comparable prior round show no range. AR5 offshore wind received no bids at all, so no discount is recorded for it.
Observed ASP Discounts, AR1 to AR7

How far below the ceiling each technology actually cleared in every previous round.

Round Technology ASP ceiling Cleared at Discount
AR1 Advanced Conversion Technology £140.00 £119.89 14.4%
AR2 Advanced Conversion Technology £115.00 £74.75 35.0%
AR3 Advanced Conversion Technology £111.00 £41.61 62.5%
AR2 Dedicated Biomass with CHP £115.00 £74.75 35.0%
AR1 Energy from Waste with CHP £80.00 £80.00 0.0%
AR4 Energy from Waste with CHP £121.00 £45.99 62.0%
AR4 Floating Offshore Wind £122.00 £87.30 28.4%
AR6 Floating Offshore Wind £176.00 £139.93 20.5%
AR7 Floating Offshore Wind £271.00 £216.49 20.1%
AR5 Geothermal £119.00 £119.00 0.0%
AR1 Offshore Wind £140.00 £119.89 14.4%
AR2 Offshore Wind £100.00 £74.75 25.3%
AR3 Offshore Wind £53.00 £41.61 21.5%
AR4 Offshore Wind £46.00 £37.35 18.8%
AR6 Offshore Wind £73.00 £58.87 19.4%
AR7 Offshore Wind £113.00 £91.20 19.3%
AR1 Onshore Wind (> 5MW) £90.00 £82.50 8.3%
AR4 Onshore Wind (> 5MW) £53.00 £42.47 19.9%
AR5 Onshore Wind (> 5MW) £53.00 £52.29 1.3%
AR6 Onshore Wind (> 5MW) £64.00 £50.90 20.5%
AR7 Onshore Wind (> 5MW) £92.00 £72.24 21.5%
AR3 Remote Island Wind (> 5MW) £82.00 £41.61 49.3%
AR4 Remote Island Wind (> 5MW) £62.00 £46.39 25.2%
AR5 Remote Island Wind (> 5MW) £53.00 £52.29 1.3%
AR4 Solar PV (> 5MW) £47.00 £45.99 2.1%
AR5 Solar PV (> 5MW) £47.00 £47.00 0.0%
AR6 Solar PV (> 5MW) £61.00 £50.07 17.9%
AR7 Solar PV (> 5MW) £75.00 £65.23 13.0%
AR4 Tidal Stream £211.00 £178.54 15.4%
AR5 Tidal Stream £202.00 £198.00 2.0%
AR6 Tidal Stream £261.00 £172.00 34.1%
AR7 Tidal Stream £371.00 £265.00 28.6%
Cleared Strike Prices, AR1 to AR7

Average cleared price by technology and round, from renDAQ's contract data. The AR8 ASP is shown as a dashed ceiling for comparison.

AR8 Timeline

Milestones up to 16 September are fixed. After that the timetable branches into five scenarios depending on how many applicants are found non-qualifying and whether they appeal. Which scenario applies is determined when qualification outcomes are issued on 16 September 2026.

June 2026
Minor & Necessary guidance published; early engagement with LCCC opens
29 Jun 2026
Clean Industry Bonus results published
6 Jul 2026
Statutory notices, Contract Allocation Framework and CfD Standard Terms published
6 – 10 Jul 2026
Minor & Necessary modification request window
20 Jul – 7 Aug 2026
Application window
31 Jul 2026
Latest date for Minor & Necessary determinations
10 Aug – 16 Sep 2026
Qualification assessment by the Delivery Body (NESO)
16 Sep 2026
Applicants notified of qualification outcome — determines which scenario applies
From 16 September, the timetable depends on appeals
What's Different in AR8
Brought forward
AR8 was moved from autumn 2026 to July 2026, compressing the timetable to get cleared prices visible sooner and more projects into the pipeline ahead of 2030.
Longer delivery windows
Solar, onshore wind, run-of-river hydro, and floating and other deepwater offshore wind get an additional delivery year compared with AR7, reflecting growing project scale and complexity.
No-bid rule reversed
Previously an applicant who did not submit a sealed bid was treated as having bid at the ASP. Under Rule 16.3 their application is now treated as withdrawn instead.
Wider bid stack visibility
In addition to solar PV, onshore and offshore wind, the Secretary of State can now look inside anonymised bids for floating offshore and other deepwater offshore wind.
Budget flexibility
Following the AR7 approach for offshore wind, budgets for pots 1 to 4 can be increased, but only where an unsuccessful bid represents strong value for money.
Hybrid metering
Generators holding an AR8 CfD will be able to take advantage of hybrid metering arrangements.
Pot 3 zonal clearing prices
Pot 3 will carry separate clearing prices for offshore wind projects connected to different transmission and distribution system tariff zones. Government is minded not to apply a separate clearing price based on project size.
Delivery Years by Pot
PotDelivery Years
Pots 1 & 22028/29  ·  2029/30  ·  2030/31
Pots 3 & 42029/30  ·  2030/31  ·  2031/32
Pot 52029/30  ·  2030/31
Sources: DESNZ AR8 Contract Allocation Framework and Pot and Price Notice (6 July 2026), the NESO indicative AR8 timetable, and LCCC contract data for AR1–AR7. Figures are provided for information only and should be checked against the official notices before being relied on.