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DESNZ and NESO published the full set of statutory notices for Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 8 on 6 July 2026, confirming the parameters onshore wind and solar PV developers have been waiting on since the round was first announced. The Application Window Notice, Pot and Price Notice, Standard Terms Notice, Counterparty Costs Notice and Contract Framework Notice all landed together, alongside the Contract Allocation Framework and the CfD Standard Terms for the round.
The application window opens 20 July and closes 7 August 2026. Eligible technologies are offshore wind, onshore wind, remote island wind and solar PV, split across the usual pot structure: established technologies including onshore wind and solar PV in Pot 1, emerging technologies in Pot 2, offshore wind in Pot 3 and floating offshore wind in Pot 4.
Administrative Strike Prices carry forward unchanged from AR7, presented in real terms on a 2024 price base. That keeps the ceiling bid price at the same level as the last round, so the auction's competitive tension will again come down to how far below that ceiling projects are prepared to bid rather than to a change in the cap itself.
AR8 now requires a firm grid connection to bid. Projects still holding a Gate 1 connection offer, meaning they are not due to connect before 2035 under the ongoing grid queue reform, cannot take part. Government has built some mitigation into this round given how close it sits to the connection reform and has said future allocation rounds will be open to Gate 2 projects only. For any project still working through requeuing, this is the detail to resolve before 20 July, not after.
A contract budget notice follows between 17 September and 19 November, timed to the length of any eligibility appeals. Sealed bidding then opens for seven days, as early as 1 to 7 October or as late as 3 to 9 December depending on how the appeals process runs. Results could land as early as 27 November 2026, or as late as 17 February 2027.
AR7, which cleared in January, secured 8.4 GW of offshore wind, the largest single CfD offshore wind procurement to date. Government has said AR7 and AR8 combined need to deliver 7 to 8 GW of onshore wind and 23 to 24 GW of solar PV against the 2030 clean power target. For onshore wind and solar developers with projects close to ready, the strike price ceiling has not moved, but the qualification bar just did.
Synertics tracks CfD, PPA and merchant pricing across UK and European markets so developers can weigh the guaranteed AR8 route against transactable PPA structures for a specific asset. To model that comparison for your own projects, try the PPA Tool at https://synertics.io/signup/ or reach out at info@synertics.io.
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