Contracts For Difference Scheme Gets Boost From New Government

The latest of these came on the 31st July, when it was announced that the budget for the sixth allocation round (AR6) of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme would be "significantly increased" to £1.555 billion. This represents an increase of over 50% to the budget set back in March.

The revised budget breaks down as follows:

• £1.1 billion is allocated to offshore wind, meaning that the AR6 budget for this renewable technology is greater than all of the previous rounds put together;
• £185 million is allocated to onshore wind and solar, both of which are more established; and
• £270 million is allocated to floating offshore wind and other emerging technologies. Excitingly, this includes £15 million which is ringfenced for tidal steam.