Offshore wind is set to dominate the third Contract for Difference round in the UK, according to research by consultancy Cornwall Insight.
Qualification for CfD3 kicks off on 29 May with offshore wind alone able to meet the auction cap of 6GW, it said.
In capacity terms, offshore represents just over 7.8GW of the 10GW of potential projects that could enter the round, said Cornwall Insight head of training Ed Reed.
“The remaining technologies representing a small fraction of the pipeline, with remote island wind the next largest by overall project capacity,” he said.
Reed added that analysis suggests between 1.9GW and 3.2GW of offshore wind will be procured at the auction at the current administrative strike price (ASP) levels of £56 per megawatt-hour for 2023-24 and £53/MWh for 2024-25.
“Offshore wind has been able to benefit from great leaps in efficiencies with increased turbine size and larger individual projects all helping to boost outputs,” he said.
“As a result, this dominance should be of little surprise particularly when this sector has come out on top in previous rounds.
“Unfortunately, the scale of the offshore wind sector alongside its relatively low ASP in comparison to other technologies will see other sectors struggle to win a CfD.”