UK CfD AR8 timeline: Dates and awards

The UK CfD Allocation Round 8 (AR8), one of the most anticipated offshore wind auctions happening this year, will open its application window in the summer. Just a week ago, the UK government confirmed the full expected timeline for the CfD AR8 auction.

The CfD allocation timeline reflects several possible scenarios, accommodating different qualification assessment appeal outcomes:

• The first step to be considered for CfD AR8 already happened in May 2026 with the Clean Industry Bonus application. Results are expected by end-June.
• The next step is the AR8 application window to qualify as a bidder, opening on 20 July and running until 7 August.
• Based on the qualification process, various timelines are possible: budget announcements could come in Q3 to early Q4 2026, while the award announcement could be as early as November 2026, but potentially stretch into 2027.

Additionally, the UK government published more information on their new "other deep-water" offshore wind technologies, which we will dive into in a separate post. Stay tuned.

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