This analysis was written by our Head of Analysis and Insights, Tom Quinn.

On 31st July, DESNZ announced an uplift to the pot budgets to enable more projects to be awarded Contracts for Differences (CfDs). We have analysed the details along with our view on eligible projects to understand what this means for offshore wind, floating wind and tidal stream deployment in the UK against the 2030 targets.

The UK government has set a target of 60GW of offshore wind deployment by 2030, including 5GW of floating wind. Longer-term, legally-binding net zero targets by 2050 will likely require over 100GW of offshore wind to be deployed. In order to meet these targets and maximise the economic opportunity available, the CfD auctions to the end of the decade are critical.