The United Kingdom has reached a historic milestone in its energy transition after awarding 8.4 GW of offshore wind capacity in the largest offshore wind auction ever held in Europe, under the seventh Contracts for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round (AR7).

The result marks a decisive turnaround for the UK offshore wind sector, following the failure of the fifth auction round—held under the previous government—in which no offshore wind projects were awarded. According to the government, the latest outcome puts the country “firmly on track” to deliver its clean power mission by 2030, while strengthening energy sovereignty, reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels and helping to lower energy costs over the long term.

However, the record-breaking auction has also highlighted the growing economic pressures facing offshore wind developers. Despite the large volume of capacity secured, several projects failed to obtain government support through CfDs, which remain critical to ensuring bankability in a market affected by rising supply-chain costs, lower wholesale power prices and higher interest rates.

Against this backdrop, German utility EnBW announced its decision to withdraw from two UK offshore wind projects, Mona and Morgan, with a combined potential capacity of up to 3 GW, after both failed to secure CfD support in the latest allocation round. The move will result in an impairment of €1.2 billion in EnBW’s 2025 financial statements, although the company stressed that the charges are non-cash and do not affect its EBITDA guidance.

Shortly after the announcement, EnBW confirmed the sale of its stake in the Mona offshore wind farm to its partner JERA Nex bp (JNbp), while the partners jointly decided not to proceed with the sister project Morgan. Despite the setback, EnBW reiterated that offshore wind remains a core pillar of its renewables strategy, with plans to increase installed renewable capacity to 10–11.5 GW by 2030.

The company is currently focused on completing construction of the 960 MW He Dreiht offshore wind farm in the German North Sea, advancing the 1 GW Dreekant project, and continuing development of the Morven offshore wind project in Scotland alongside JNbp.