Scottish Power has raised concerns over the latest Contracts for Difference (CfD) subsidy auction, warning that ready-to-build offshore wind projects have lost out to earlier-stage schemes that may face delays or fail to reach completion. The company said the outcome could undermine the UK government’s goal of achieving 95 percent clean electricity by 2030.
The dispute centres on Allocation Round 7 (AR7), the most recent CfD auction whose results were published in January. CfDs guarantee developers a fixed price for the electricity they produce, providing financial certainty for large-scale renewable energy projects.
Scottish Power had bid for its £4 billion East Anglia One North offshore wind farm, located off the Suffolk coast. The fully consented project, the company said, could supply power to up to 900,000 homes. Despite being “shovel-ready,” the project failed to secure a contract, losing to six other offshore wind proposals, five of which are led by German energy group RWE.
Keith Anderson, Scottish Power’s chief executive, expressed frustration at the outcome. “We had literally a shovel-ready project,” he said. “We would have taken a final investment decision the day after being awarded the contract. Construction would have started immediately and the project would have been at full output before the end of 2030.”
Several of the winning bids, he noted, are still at early stages of development. Two lack planning consent, and others have not finalised supply chain agreements. Anderson said that changes to the AR7 rules, which allowed projects to bid before securing planning or supply chain contracts, increased the risk of non-delivery. He warned that earlier speculative bids in past auctions had sometimes been withdrawn due to rising costs or supply chain issues.
RWE defended its projects, stating that planning approvals were “well advanced” and supplier negotiations were ongoing. The company said it remained confident that, provided grid connections proceed on time, its AR7 portfolio would be delivered.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero highlighted the auction as a step toward meeting the government’s clean energy objectives. “The CfD process continues to drive investment into offshore wind at scale and puts us firmly on track to deliver clean, home-grown power by 2030,” a spokesperson said.
The controversy reflects a broader debate within the UK energy sector: whether CfD rules should favour projects ready to build immediately or encourage broader competition by including earlier-stage developments.
Anderson said Scottish Power is pushing for the next CfD auction to proceed swiftly. “We can still get this project built by 2030,” he said. “It will contribute meaningfully to your net-zero target, but it needs certainty.”
Industry observers note that as the UK races toward its 2030 clean energy target, scrutiny over the effectiveness of the CfD system and its ability to convert auction wins into operational wind farms is likely to intensify.
The East Anglia One North case underscores the challenge of balancing policy design, market competition, and timely delivery of renewable energy projects in the UK’s transition to net zero.
