Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 8

UK CfD Allocation Round 8 (AR8, 2026)

1. At a glance


Auction type	Contract for Difference (CfD) offtake — 20-year price support (Base Year 2024, unchanged from AR7)
Scope	Offshore Wind (fixed-bottom), Floating Offshore Wind (FLOW), Other Deepwater Offshore Wind (ODOW) — proposed new category for AR8. Non-offshore-wind technologies (solar, onshore wind, etc.) are applying within AR8, not in a separate AR8a round, per DESNZ's published "CfD Allocation Round 8: Supply Chain Plan questionnaire and guidance" for solar applicants on GOV.UK; onshore wind is retained within the Supply Chain Plan regime in AR8 because the CIB expansion to onshore wind has been deferred to AR9
Awarding body	Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ); delivered by National Energy System Operator (NESO)
Counterparty	Low Carbon Contracts Company Ltd (LCCC), registered office 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU, company number 08818711
Statutory framework	Energy Act 2013; Contracts for Difference (Allocation) Regulations 2014 (as amended); Contracts for Difference (Standard Terms) Regulations 2014 (as amended); Electricity Market Reform (General) Regulations 2014 (as amended); Sustainable Industry Rewards regulations 2024 (now the Clean Industry Bonus); Subsidy Control Act 2022
CIB application window	Mid-May 2026 (precise dates to be set in the Secretary of State's notice under the CIB Allocation Framework). The framework fixes the window length at 7 Working Days. The February 2026 government response gives the provisional indicator "opens mid-May 2026, closes end of May 2026, results by end of June 2026" — these are not yet final and are subject to the CIB statutory instrument coming into force (expected mid-April 2026)
CIB results	No more than 35 Working Days after CIB application window closes (compressed from 50 WD in AR7). If window closes late May 2026, results arrive by early July 2026 (35 WD later); the provisional "by end of June 2026" in the CIB reforms response assumes the window closes earlier
CfD application window	Not yet published — AR8 was brought forward on 15 March 2026 from autumn 2026 to July 2026. Expected July–August 2026.
CfD sealed bid window	July 2026 (not yet fixed)
CfD results	Expected Q3–Q4 2026
CIB budget	Likely ~£150 million — per DESNZ's statement to the CMA Subsidy Advice Unit on the AR8 CIB referral ("Allocation Round 8 offers approximately £150 million in support"). The CIB Allocation Framework itself does not set this figure — it states only that "the value of the CIB budget will be set out in the CIB budget notice". The CIB budget is expressed in absolute £ (the AR7 per-GW-applying expression has been abandoned per `government-response-cib-reforms`, "Budget expression: Absolute £ terms rather than £m/GW"). Includes a FLOW sub-budget (ring-fenced minimum) whose value will be set in the budget notice and (per AR7 pattern) expected to remain partially undisclosed. CIB budget will be revised up or down between provisional and final notices.
CfD overall Budget	Not yet published — will be issued as a Contract Budget Notice closer to the CfD sealed bid window
Administrative Strike Prices	Not yet published — will be issued in the AR8 Pot and Price Notice
Contract term	20 years from the earlier of the Start Date and the last day of the Target Commissioning Window, for Offshore Wind, FLOW, ODOW, Onshore Wind, Remote Island Wind, and Solar PV. Unchanged from AR7
Strike price base	2024 prices (unchanged from AR7)
Indexation	CPI-indexed annually. AR8 proposal: Base Year CPI definition amended from "CPI for October 2023" to "full-year 2024 CPI" — proposed in `scheme-changes-consultation` §10; final adoption pending second government response
Negative-price rule	Zero CfD payment for every Settlement Unit where the Intermittent Market Reference Price is negative (£0/MWh floor); no minimum-duration threshold. Unchanged from AR7
Non-price requirement	Clean Industry Bonus (CIB) with mandatory Fair Work Charter signature — pre-requisite for entry at £100m/GW (fixed) / £50m/GW (FLOW) minimum standards; £10m/GW mandatory IGP contribution; CIB extra proposals compete for ~£150m. AR8 first round to require project-level CIB bids (CfD units defined post-auction)
Major AR8 design changes vs AR7	See §2.2. Confirmed in the 20 March 2026 government response (legislative Chapter 5 items): (8) NESO error-correction powers (Reg 19); (9) Tier 1 appeal evidence flexibility (Reg 20(2)(c)); and Pending Applications regulations refinements. Confirmed in the 4 February 2026 CIB reforms response: (10) Fair Work Charter tripartite scheme; (14) CIB onshore wind deferred to AR9; (12) CIB results compressed 50→35 WD; Skills investment — industry-wide OWGP fund from 2027. Proposed and reflected in the draft CfD contract documents (4 March 2026) but pending a separate government response: (1) ODOW category proposed; (2) FLOW Longstop 12→24 months, RIC 95%→85%; (3) draft CfD (Phase 1) Agreement (Apportioned) — new phasing construct; (4) surrendered-capacity exclusion made permanent (covers rounds 1–7); (5) Gate 1 connection agreements excluded; (6) default bids removed (Rule 12.9); (7) sealed-bid single-bid cap for technologies with bid visibility; (11) CIB variants removed in AR8; (13) CIB normalisation score no longer capped at 100; (15) UCON enhancements (Condition 3.26A) for distribution-connected generators; (16) hybrid metering for same-technology CfD+merchant assets (contract drafting deferred to a later consultation); (17) Inside Information definition realigned to UK MAR Article 7(1); (18) Base Year CPI redefined to full-year 2024 CPI
Political context	Brought forward to July 2026 by government announcement 15 March 2026 (previously expected autumn 2026), positioned as second major procurement milestone of the "Clean Power 2030" mission following AR7's 8.4 GW record
Technologies NOT in AR8 CIB	Onshore Wind — deferred to AR9 (minimum standard £25m/GW for portfolios >100MW, SBTi coverage 30%)

Source documents (10 primary, ~263 PDF pages, ~73,000 parsed words): scheme-changes-consultation, government-response-legislative-changes, government-response-cib-reforms, draft-cfd-agreement-generic, draft-phase-1-agreement-apportioned, draft-standard-terms-and-conditions-pp1-20-defs + -cps-milestones-capacity + -intermittent-revenue + -schedules-cp-cib (four targeted excerpts of the 592-page v.8 draft STCs), cib-allocation-framework, cib-guidance, fair-work-charter, cma-sau-referral.

2. Market context at time of auction

2.1 Political and market backdrop

AR8 is being launched into a very different mood from AR7. Where AR7 was designed against the shock of Hornsea 4's withdrawal (May 2025) and a policy anxiety about whether the 2030 offshore-wind pathway was salvageable, AR8 follows a record 8.4 GW AR7 result announced on 14 January 2026, with AR7a adding a further 6.2 GW of non-offshore-wind capacity announced 10 February 2026. The combined 14.7 GW across 201 new projects, and the £27 billion in private-sector investment the Government has publicly attached to it, have materially altered the discretionary headroom DESNZ enjoys around AR8 design.

Two consequences follow from that headroom.

First, the policy aim for AR8 is presented explicitly as continuity rather than reinvention. The December 2025 consultation opens with the sentence:

"These changes are focussed on continuity and aim to improve scheme efficiency, enable innovative technologies and support timely deployment for Allocation Round 8 (AR8) – ensuring certainty whilst supporting ongoing delivery."

The CfD contract, the Standard T&Cs and the Allocation Framework are not being redesigned — they are being iterated on the AR7 baseline, with a package of refinements (scheme efficiency, FLOW contract recalibration, ODOW category, UCON, metering, bid visibility, removal of default bids). This continuity framing matters because it fixes the 9-axis extraction to treating AR8 as an AR7 variant rather than a new regime — most of AR7's mechanics carry over.

Second, the government has brought AR8 forward from autumn 2026 to July 2026 — a compression of several months relative to the expected cadence, announced 15 March 2026. This reflects confidence that the post-AR7 design works and that the policy benefit of an earlier round (more projects in the pipeline sooner, earlier visibility of cleared strike prices feeding investment decisions) outweighs the integration risk of compressing the CIB statutory instrument → Allocation Framework → application window sequence into a single pre-summer window. The CIB statutory instrument was laid in February 2026 and is expected to come into force mid-April 2026.

2.2 AR8 design changes — inventory

AR8 iterates AR7 across five clusters of change. The headline cluster is new-technology accommodation: the proposed Other Deepwater Offshore Wind (ODOW) category. The remaining clusters are process hardening, contract risk-sharing, enforcement, and legal drafting hygiene.

Status note: items #10, #11 and #12 are confirmed by the 20 March 2026 government response on legislative proposals. Items #13, #14 (onshore deferred to AR9), #16, #21 and #22 are confirmed by the 4 February 2026 CIB reforms response. All other items in this table are proposed in the December 2025 consultation and reflected in the 4 March 2026 draft CfD contract documents, but remain formally pending the outstanding "second" government response that DESNZ has said will be published in due course.

#	Change	Cluster	Source
1	Proposed new "Other Deepwater Offshore Wind" (ODOW) technology category — for hybrid foundations (not fully-floating) in ≥50 m water depth; drafting inserted into the 4 March 2026 draft CfD Agreement + STCs pending second government response	New-tech accommodation	`scheme-changes-consultation` §4, pp.17–21
2	FLOW Longstop Period 12 → 24 months	Contract risk-sharing	`scheme-changes-consultation` §3, pp.15–17; draft CfD Agreement Clause 5.3 footnote 30 cross-ref to STCs Table H
3	FLOW Required Installed Capacity (RIC) 95% → 85% (aligned with fixed-bottom OSW)	Contract risk-sharing	`scheme-changes-consultation` §3; `draft-cfd-agreement-generic` Clause 7.2(A) footnote 38 ("eighty-five per cent. (85%) of the Installed Capacity Estimate … Drafting to be retained only if the Facility Generation Technology is Offshore Wind (including Floating Offshore Wind or Other Deepwater Offshore Wind)")
4	Draft CfD (Phase 1) Agreement (Apportioned metering) issued with the AR8 consultation package — restructures how phased OSW projects apportion Metered Output across phases via a turbine-reallocation mechanism and an Information and Monitoring System audit	Contract risk-sharing	`draft-phase-1-agreement-apportioned` (49 pp)
5	Permanent exclusion of surrendered CfD capacity (covers rounds 1–7 for AR8 entry) — closure of the Permitted Reduction and Final Installed Capacity re-bid pathway which AR6 allowed for AR4 winners	Process hardening	`scheme-changes-consultation` §1, pp.8–10
6	Gate 1 connection agreements excluded — only Gate 2 (confirmed connection date and point) eligible; Schedule 5 exclusion added	Process hardening	`scheme-changes-consultation` §8, pp.32–34
7	Default bids removed — Contract Allocation Framework Rule 12.9 dropped; an application for which no sealed bid is submitted is treated as withdrawn	Process hardening	`scheme-changes-consultation` §6, p.27
8	Single sealed bid cap — for technology types with bid visibility, applicants limited to one bid	Process hardening	`scheme-changes-consultation` §9, p.35
9	Sealed-bid visibility retained for fixed-bottom OSW (AR7 innovation retained; potential expansion to other technologies consulted on but decision not yet published)	Process hardening	`scheme-changes-consultation` §9, p.35 — decision pending in the "second" government response
10	NESO may correct Delivery Body errors (Reg 19) — new or amended non-qualification determination notices; project-specific pause; two-tier appeal retained	Process hardening	`government-response-legislative-changes` "Summary of decisions"
11	NESO may consider new documentary evidence at Tier 1 appeal (Reg 20(2)(c)) — for non-material errors/omissions; scope set in Contract Allocation Framework; essential evidence absence remains fatal	Process hardening	`government-response-legislative-changes` "Summary of decisions"
12	Pending Applications regulations refined — Reg 49 widened to include applicants pending High Court/Court of Session appeals; Reg 50(2)(c) awareness restriction removed; Reg 51(3) clarifies what happens if pending applicant becomes qualifying after proceed notice	Process hardening	`government-response-legislative-changes` "Revising Pending Applications regulations"
13	Fair Work Charter (FWC) tripartite scheme — mandatory signature by eligible generator + contracted UK service providers as non-financial CIB minimum standard; Acas-based dispute resolution	New/enforcement	`fair-work-charter` (17 pp); `cib-allocation-framework` §6.1(iv) + §§6.12–6.16
14	CIB project-level bids first introduced — CfD units defined post-auction (within 5 WD of CfD notification); one CIB application per project	CIB framework	`cib-allocation-framework` §§2.3, 4.5, 6.6, 18.4; `government-response-cib-reforms` "Project-level bids: Approved for offshore wind; applicants define specific CfD units post-auction"
15	CIB variants removed — unlike AR7, no variant sub-proposals; 1–15 CIB extra proposals only	CIB framework	`cib-allocation-framework` §9.1 "Unlike the previous allocation rounds, variants are no longer a feature"
16	CIB results compressed 50→35 WD after application window	CIB framework	`cib-allocation-framework` §4.6; `government-response-cib-reforms`
17	CIB budget expression changed to absolute £ (was £m/GW-applying in AR7)	CIB framework	`government-response-cib-reforms`; `cib-allocation-framework` §16
18	CIB sunset clause extended to cover any CfD rounds established before 31 December 2028	CIB framework	`government-response-cib-reforms`
19	CIB Criterion 2 minimum SBT coverage: 40% for fixed-bottom and FLOW (raised/set from AR7's similar threshold)	CIB framework	`cib-allocation-framework` §13.9
20	CIB normalisation scores no longer capped at 100 — scores can exceed 100 if raw score exceeds 14 (C1) or 14 (C2)	CIB framework	`cib-allocation-framework` §13.7 footnote 32 "This formula differs from its AR7 counterpart in that it is no longer capped to provide a normalised score of '100' at most"
21	CIB onshore wind deferred to AR9 with £25m/GW minimum for portfolios >100 MW	CIB framework	`government-response-cib-reforms` "Timeline: Allocation Round 9 (not AR8)"
22	Skills investment — industry-wide fund via OWGP, implementation 2027	CIB framework	`government-response-cib-reforms` "Skills Investment: Option 1 — industry-wide collaborative fund"
23	Hybrid metering for single-technology / multiple commercial arrangements — CfD + merchant assets of same technology may share BMU and meter at sub-BMU level via SCADA + Edge API	Contract risk-sharing	`scheme-changes-consultation` §2, pp.11–14
24	UCON enhancements (new Condition 3.26A, amended Condition 31.13, new Conditions 10.4(C) and 18.6(C)) — LCCC may presume UCON preconditions in Condition 3.26A(B)(ii)(b)–(c) met where Generator fails to respond within 10 Business Days to a Condition 32.1(K) request for Actual Generation Output Data, or breaches its Metering Access Right. Default Interest applies to Reconciliation Amounts in LCCC's favour under the new 10.4(C)/18.6(C) provisions. Proposed in the consultation; reflected in the 4 March 2026 draft STCs pending second government response	Enforcement	`scheme-changes-consultation` §7, pp.28–31; `draft-standard-terms-and-conditions-intermittent-revenue` Condition 18.6(C)
25	Base Year CPI redefined — from "CPI for October 2023" to "full-year 2024 CPI" to align with 2024 Base Year	Drafting hygiene	`scheme-changes-consultation` §10, p.37
26	Inside Information definition realigned to UK MAR Article 7(1) (was FSMA s.118C / CJA s.56) — Condition 72.3/72.6 amended	Drafting hygiene	`scheme-changes-consultation` §10, pp.37–38
27	Appeals timeline fix postponed — government had consulted before AR7 on fixing appeals timelines from 2026; decided not to implement for AR8 to allow continued discretion to shorten the round where no appeals materialise	Process hardening (reversal)	`scheme-changes-consultation` §11, p.39

The consultation signalled that some of these (notably hybrid metering) would be delivered in a second government response to be published ahead of AR8. At time of writing (2026-04-21) only the first government response has been published (20 March 2026, legislative changes only). Items 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 23, 24, 25, 26 remain formally pending the second response, even though the draft contract documents have been published reflecting most of them.

3. Regulatory frame

3.1 Actors and roles

The AR8 actor set is unchanged from AR7 in structure. What is new is the formal integration of the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) as the "IGP Delivery Body" — the body to which CIB applicants must contribute a £10m/GW levy as a minimum-standard condition, and which (from AR9) will administer the industry-wide skills fund.

Function	Body	Role in AR8
Scheme owner, policy, Budget Notices, Pot and Price Notice, Standard Terms Notice, CIB assessment	DESNZ — Department for Energy Security and Net Zero	All primary notices and the CIB scoring/ranking process
CIB applications review and CIB Statement issuance	DESNZ (Secretary of State)	Issues CIB Statement (allowing CfD entry) or refusal notice; maintains secondary CIB budget allocation discretion with HM Treasury
Delivery body (auction operator)	NESO — National Energy System Operator	Operates application portal, qualification, valuation, sealed-bid auction (Minimum → Maxima → Pot sequence per Rule 19), Anonymised Bid Information transmission to Secretary of State (AR8 retains AR7's Rule 13 mechanic for fixed-bottom OSW)
CfD counterparty	LCCC — Low Carbon Contracts Company Ltd	20-year CfD signing; CIB payment stream management; Facility CIB Requirements Statement administration; UCON enforcement
Appeals authority	Ofgem (GEMA — "the Authority")	Tier 2 qualification appeals. AR8 change: now operates alongside NESO's new error-correction powers (Reg 19 amended) and expanded Tier 1 evidence admissibility (Reg 20(2)(c) amended). Existing two-tier appeal structure preserved
Scheme scrutiny	CMA Subsidy Advice Unit	Voluntary referral under Subsidy Control Act 2022. AR8 referral made 18 March 2026, third-party submissions due 31 March 2026, SAU report due 30 April 2026. Scope specifically: the CIB Allocation Round 8 scheme
Industrial Growth Plan Delivery Body	Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP)	Recipient of £10m/GW mandatory CIB contribution; administers Project Level Financing Agreements with developers; prospective delivery partner for AR9 skills fund
Fair Work Charter administrator	DESNZ (Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero)	Maintains FWC signatory register; determines FWC breach and signatory removal; refers disputes to Acas (conciliation + arbitration)
FWC dispute resolution	Acas (Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service)	Conciliator + independent arbitrator; 21-day award window after hearing; decisions binding in honour, considered by Secretary of State in signatory removal decisions
Trade union counterparty	TUC-affiliated trade unions	Signatories to the FWC; monitor employer compliance via Voluntary Access Agreements; may initiate dispute resolution applications
Seabed leasing (upstream)	The Crown Estate (E/W/NI); Crown Estate Scotland	Projects must hold seabed rights; AR8 is the first round in which Round 5 (Celtic Sea floating) and INTOG (Scotland) projects are likely to seek CfDs

3.2 Statutory instrument dependencies

AR8 is crucially dependent on three pieces of secondary legislation:

CIB regulatory-reforms statutory instrument — implementing the February 2026 government response on CIB reforms (skills, onshore wind framework for AR9, contract amendments). Expected in force mid-April 2026.
AR8 legislative-changes statutory instrument — implementing the March 2026 government response (NESO error correction; Tier 1 evidence admissibility; Pending Applications regs amendments). "We will bring forward secondary legislation to amend the Allocation Regulations … Subject to Parliamentary approval, we aim to have the regulations in force before AR8 opens to applications".
CIB contract-amendments statutory instrument — implementing the "contract amendments to implement Clean Industry Bonus reforms" consultation (4 March 2026) reflected in the draft CfD Agreement and Standard T&Cs.

All three SIs must come into force before the CIB application window opens (indicatively mid-May 2026).

4. Pre-round preparation and timeline

4.1 Chronology (as of 2026-04-21)

#	Date	Event	Actor	Source
1	14 Jan 2026	AR7 results announced (8.4 GW offshore wind)	DESNZ	`government-response-legislative-changes`
2	10 Feb 2026	AR7a results announced (6.2 GW non-OSW: 201 projects)	DESNZ	`government-response-legislative-changes`
3	4 Feb 2026	Government response on CIB regulatory reforms for AR8 (approach selected for skills, onshore wind, workforce protection, process improvements)	DESNZ	`government-response-cib-reforms`
4	16 Feb 2026	CIB Allocation Framework (draft) published; CIB Guidance (draft) published — both "will remain in draft until the underlying legislation has been approved by parliament"	DESNZ	`cib-allocation-framework` cover; `cib-guidance` cover
5	4 Mar 2026	2nd consultation version of CfD Agreement (Generic) and Standard T&Cs (v.8) published, incorporating December 2025 consultation changes; CIB contract-amendments consultation opened	DESNZ	`draft-cfd-agreement-generic` cover; `draft-standard-terms-and-conditions-*` cover notices
6	9 Mar 2026	Fair Work Charter published (interim; tripartite, aligned to Employment Rights Act 2025)	DESNZ / industry / TUC unions	`fair-work-charter`
7	15 Mar 2026	AR8 brought forward by government announcement to July 2026 (was autumn 2026)	DESNZ	`government-response-legislative-changes` citation
8	18 Mar 2026	CMA Subsidy Advice Unit referral of the AR8 CIB scheme	DESNZ → CMA SAU	`cma-sau-referral`
9	20 Mar 2026	Government response to legislative proposals (NESO error correction; Tier 1 evidence flexibility; Pending Applications regs)	DESNZ	`government-response-legislative-changes`
10	31 Mar 2026	CMA SAU third-party submission deadline	CMA SAU	`cma-sau-referral`
11	~mid-April 2026	CIB statutory instrument expected in force	Parliament	`cib-guidance` cover note
12	30 Apr 2026	CMA SAU report publication (scheduled)	CMA SAU	`cma-sau-referral`
13	****	Provisional CIB budget notice to be issued ≥10 WD before CIB application window opens	DESNZ	`cib-allocation-framework` §16.2
14	Mid-May 2026	CIB application window opens (indicative; exact date to be set in Secretary of State's notice)	DESNZ	`cib-allocation-framework` §4.6; `government-response-cib-reforms` provisional timeline
15	End May 2026	CIB application window closes (7 Working Days after opening per `cib-allocation-framework` §4.6)	DESNZ	`cib-allocation-framework` §4.6
16	+25 WD from window close (~25 Jun 2026)	Final CIB budget notice issued by Secretary of State	DESNZ	`cib-allocation-framework` §16.3
17	+35 WD from window close (~8 Jul 2026)	CIB Statements released (results for primary allocation)	DESNZ	`cib-allocation-framework` §4.6; §18
18	July 2026	AR8 CfD application window opens (precise date to be confirmed in Application Window Notice)	DESNZ / NESO	government announcement 15 Mar 2026
19	****	AR8 CfD application window closes	NESO	AR7 pattern
20	****	Contract Budget Notice issued	DESNZ	AR7 pattern
21	****	CfD sealed bid window opens	NESO	AR7 Rule 11.2(c) pattern
22	****	Possible AR7-style Contract Budget Revision Notice under Rule 13 anonymised-bid-information mechanic (retained for fixed-bottom OSW)	DESNZ	AR7 pattern; `scheme-changes-consultation` §9 confirms AR7 visibility policy retained for fixed-bottom OSW
23	****	AR8 CfD results published	DESNZ	AR7 pattern
24	****	LCCC CfD contract signatures	LCCC	AR7 pattern
25	****	DESNZ decision on whether to trigger Secondary (discretionary) CIB allocation (unspent CIB budget from unsuccessful CfD bidders)	DESNZ + HM Treasury	`cib-allocation-framework` §19.4

4.2 Elapsed time summary (intended)

Government response on CIB reforms → CIB Framework draft published: ~12 days
CIB statutory instrument in force → CIB application window opens: ~4 weeks
CIB application window: 7 Working Days (AR7 was longer, though not directly comparable because AR7 CIB ran Feb–Apr 2025)
CIB window close → CIB Statements released: ≤35 Working Days (compressed from AR7's 50 WD)
CIB Statements → CfD application window opens: ~2 weeks (inferred)
Total from CIB Framework draft published (16 Feb 2026) to CfD results (~Q4 2026): ~8 months — substantially shorter than AR7's ~14 months, reflecting the CIB framework being iterated rather than designed from scratch

4.3 Legal risk of the compressed timetable

Two statutory dependencies could slip the mid-May 2026 CIB opening:

The CIB regulatory-reforms statutory instrument must be in force. The cover notes on the draft CIB Allocation Framework and Guidance state explicitly that "this document will remain in draft until the underlying legislation has been approved by parliament".
The Fair Work Charter must have a functioning signatory register by the CIB application window close, because CIB minimum standards require the eligible generator (and, where relevant, UK-based service providers) to be signatories "no later than the day the CIB application window closes". The FWC was published 9 March 2026, leaving roughly 10 weeks for sign-ups before the indicative end-of-May 2026 close.

If either slips, the "no earlier than" language in the government announcement ("these dates are subject to change and any new date will not be earlier than these dates") gives DESNZ discretion to defer the CIB window.

5. The prize — CfD contract mechanics

5.1 What a winning bid delivers

A winning AR8 bid delivers to the Generator:

A 20-year CfD with LCCC (same structure as AR7; identical two-sided difference-amount mechanic);
An indexation-adjusted Strike Price set in 2024 prices;
A CIB Statement confirming (i) satisfaction of CIB Minimum Standards and (ii) the CIB extra proposal(s), if any, that have been awarded a Clean Industry Bonus; and
A Facility CIB Requirements Statement from DESNZ that LCCC administers as part of the CfD contract via Schedule 2.

The contractual mechanics are defined across four documents: the CfD Agreement (project-specific), the Standard Terms and Conditions (generic), the CIB Allocation Framework (policy + scoring), and the Facility CIB Requirements Statement (project-specific CIB investments).

5.2 The two-sided CfD

Unchanged from AR7 in structure. For intermittent technologies (OSW / FLOW / ODOW), in each Settlement Unit (one hour per draft-cfd-agreement-generic Annex 3 Part B paragraph 1), the Difference Amount per unit of metered output is:

Intermittent Difference Amount = (Strike Price − Intermittent Market Reference Price) × Metered Output

— provided that "in respect of any and all Settlement Units which form part of an Intermittent Negative Price Period, the Intermittent Difference Amount shall be zero (0)". An Intermittent Negative Price Period is "any period of one (1) or more Settlement Units in respect of which the Intermittent Market Reference Price is negative (that is, less than £0/MWh)". There is no minimum-duration threshold; a single negative hour triggers zero top-up for that hour.

Over a Billing Period, the half-hourly/hourly Difference Amounts aggregate to a Net Payable Amount.

5.3 Strike Price — Base Year, Initial Strike Price, indexation

Base Year: 2024. Same as AR7.
Initial Strike Price: "The Initial Strike Price will be provided by the Delivery Body following the Allocation Round". The Administrative Strike Prices (the bid ceilings per technology, per delivery year) are not yet published.
Indexation: CPI-indexed annually on the "Indexation Anniversary" = first day of the Summer Season. Indexation uses "the CPI for January of the relevant calendar year", applied via the formula in Condition 20.4:

Strike Price = ((SP_base + ADJ_t_base) × Π_t) + Σ TLM(D)SPA

— where SP_base is the Initial Strike Price, ADJ_t_base is the sum of Strike Price Adjustments in Base Year Terms, Π_t is the Inflation Factor, and Σ TLM(D)SPA is the cumulative TLM(D) Strike Price Adjustment.
AR8 change — Base Year CPI redefined: The definition of Base Year CPI in the AR7 STCs used "CPI for October in the calendar year immediately preceding the Base Year" (i.e. CPI for October 2023). AR8's scheme-changes consultation proposes amending this to the full-year 2024 CPI so that "the price base used to calculate the annual strike price adjustment is the full-year 2024 CPI". The consultation response is not yet published but the CfD Agreement draft at Clause 9.1 continues to say "Base Year … 2024", consistent with the proposal.

5.4 Contract term — 20 years

Per draft-cfd-agreement-generic Clause 3 (verbatim):

"The 'Specified Expiry Date' applicable to this Contract for Difference is: ⁴ /⁵."

Footnote 5 (verbatim): "delete if the Facility Generation Technology is not any of the following: Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind, Other Deepwater Offshore Wind, Onshore Wind, Remote Island Wind or Solar PV."

AR8 ODOW receives the same 20-year term as OSW/FLOW/Onshore Wind/Remote Island Wind/Solar PV. The addition of ODOW to footnote 5 is the most visible textual change from the AR7 generic agreement. No other technology changes class.

The "earlier of Start Date and last day of TCW" anchor means a slow-commissioning project forfeits subsidy years — unchanged from AR7 and earlier rounds.

5.5 Target Commissioning Window, Conditions Precedent, and Longstop

Initial Target Commissioning Window per draft-cfd-agreement-generic Clause 5.1 footnote 27: equal to "the Target Commissioning Window period applicable to the Facility Generation Technology listed in Table G of the CfD Standard Terms Notice issued on 2026". Table G of the AR8 CfD Standard Terms Notice is not yet published; on AR7 pattern OSW/FLOW/ODOW would all be 1 year.
Initial Milestone Delivery Date: "eighteen (18) months after the Agreement Date". Unchanged from AR7.
Longstop Period: per draft-cfd-agreement-generic Clause 5.3, is a blank ("") that is filled from Table H of the CfD Standard Terms Notice. The AR8 design change here (clause 3 of the December 2025 consultation) is to set Table H for FLOW at 24 months (up from 12), for new FLOW projects from AR8 onwards. ODOW "will be subject to the same Longstop Period and RIC as the other offshore wind categories", i.e. 24 months for ODOW in parallel with FLOW.
Required Installed Capacity (RIC): draft-cfd-agreement-generic Clause 7.2(A) offers two drafting alternatives:
- 85% of the Installed Capacity Estimate — "Drafting to be retained only if the Facility Generation Technology is Offshore Wind (including Floating Offshore Wind or Other Deepwater Offshore Wind)";
- 95% of the Installed Capacity Estimate — for all other eligible technologies.
AR8 change: FLOW moves from the 95% drafting to the 85% drafting, aligning with fixed-bottom OSW. ODOW joins on the 85% side as a subset of Offshore Wind.
Extension grounds for Milestone Delivery Date / TCW / Longstop Date: retained from AR7 — Force Majeure, TSO/Licensed Distributor/OFTO delay, MoD Radar Mitigation Scheme non-confirmation (OSW and Onshore Wind only), and (for Offshore Wind excluding FLOW) planning-consent-not-granted/quashed/refused with Relevant Court Proceedings caveat. ODOW's extension-ground treatment is captured by virtue of ODOW being a subset of Offshore Wind in the STCs.

5.6 ODOW-specific contract provisions

Because ODOW is a subset of Offshore Wind, most STC provisions apply automatically. Three ODOW-specific carve-outs:

Condition 28.2(B) (representation on technology compliance at Start Date) — references ODOW specifically, so the Generator must warrant it deployed ODOW and not generic OSW.
Condition 30.1(F) (general undertaking to maintain the same generation technology) — same treatment.
Condition 31.1(F) (undertaking that the Facility only stores electricity generated by the Facility Generation Technology) — same treatment.
New Operational Condition Precedent Schedule 1, Part B, paragraph 2.1(K): "evidence, in form and content satisfactory to the CfD Counterparty, acting reasonably, that the Facility satisfies the other deepwater offshore wind conditions set out in the Contract Allocation Framework (provided that this paragraph 2.1(K) shall apply to the Contract for Difference only if the Facility Generation Technology is specified to be Other Deepwater Offshore Wind)".

ODOW is NOT eligible to apply as an Unconsented Project. This tracks FLOW's treatment and is explicit: "The Government intends that ODOW projects will not be eligible to apply as an Unconsented Project."

5.7 Phased offshore wind: the AR8 draft CfD (Phase 1) Agreement (Apportioned metering)

This is new structured documentation in AR8. The draft contract sets up a framework where a Phased Project consisting of up to three phases is served by three separate CfD agreements (Phase 1 Apportioned + Phase 2 + Phase 3) that share an Information and Monitoring System (IMS) to apportion Metered Output across phases via a Turbine Installed Capacity ratio:

Phase 1 Apportionment Percentage = Σ TIC_P1AT / Σ TIC_PPAT × 100

where TIC_P1AT is the sum of Turbine Installed Capacity of each Phase 1 Active Turbine in the Billing Period, and TIC_PPAT the sum of the same across all Phased Project Active Turbines. "Active Turbine" means "an offshore wind turbine which exports electricity at any time during that Billing Period".

The draft also provides for:

Turbine reallocation notices (Annex 5) — allowing turbines to be formally reallocated between phases during the project life;
Information and Monitoring System Audit (Annex 7) — a right for LCCC to audit the IMS;
Phase-level Maximum Contract Capacity aggregated to a Maximum Project Capacity;
Phase-specific Longstop Dates, Installed Capacity Estimates, and Apportionment Percentages for each phase.

This formalises mechanics previously handled case-by-case for phased offshore wind projects (e.g. Dogger Bank's three phases). The existence of a dedicated AR8 template suggests DESNZ expects more phased OSW in AR8 than in AR7, likely driven by the size of the unconsented-but-bidding fixed-bottom cohort coming through the queue.

5.8 Negative pricing rule (unchanged)

Zero CfD payment for any Settlement Unit within an Intermittent Negative Price Period, i.e. any hour where the Intermittent Market Reference Price is below £0/MWh. No minimum-duration carve-out. Imported from AR7.

5.9 Curtailment

Part 11 of the Standard Terms (Curtailment) "applies to this Contract for Difference" by default. Specific mechanics (Qualifying CPC Event procedure in Condition 48; Compensation in Condition 49; general provisions in Condition 50) are retained from AR7 v.7 STCs and roll into v.8 without substantive change visible in the TOC excerpt.

6. The Clean Industry Bonus (CIB)

The CIB is the AR8 non-price competition. It sits before the CfD sealed-bid auction: a Generator must hold a CIB Statement confirming satisfaction of minimum standards in order to be eligible to enter the CfD round. Unlike AR6's Supply Chain Plans, the CIB is a full competitive non-price process, with its own budget, its own scoring, its own ranking, and its own contractual payment stream.

6.1 Who is eligible

Only Offshore Wind generators or Floating Offshore Wind generators (any size) are eligible. Because ODOW is a subset of Offshore Wind, ODOW generators are also eligible. Onshore wind is not eligible in AR8 (deferred to AR9 per government-response-cib-reforms).

One CIB application is submitted per project; a project = a generating station and all CfD units therein entering AR8. Where a project uses both fixed-bottom and FLOW technologies, a separate CIB application per technology is required.

6.2 Minimum Standards — the gate

To receive a CIB Statement (and thereby to enter the CfD round), the Generator must meet three financial and one non-financial minimum standards:

#	Minimum standard	Source
1	Investment ≥ £100m per GW (fixed-bottom) or £50m per GW (FLOW) across CIB minimum standards proposals, indexed from January 2026	`cib-allocation-framework` §§6.1(i), 6.1(ii), 20.4
2	Contribution of £10m per GW to the IGP Delivery Body (OWGP) in the timeframe set by OWGP, before the Investment Final Date. This contribution can count toward MS #1 at the applicant's discretion. The £10m/GW figure is "the industry agreed sum towards the Industrial Growth Plan Delivery Body for Allocation Round 8 … as set out in the OWIC 2025 Charter"	`cib-allocation-framework` §§6.1(iii), 6.10
3	Fair Work Charter signature by (i) the eligible generator and (ii) UK-based service providers contracted to the project	`cib-allocation-framework` §§6.1(iv), 6.12, 6.15

Investments must: be tangible-asset investments (intangibles like R&D don't count), be made after 1 January 2025 and before the CfD Start Date, relate to one of 17 listed component/facility categories. Ports are "a harbour or access to navigable water where ships load or unload".

6.3 Two scoring criteria

CIB minimum standards proposals and CIB extra proposals must each meet at least one of two criteria:

Criterion 1 — Investment in shorter supply chains:

Recipient is a manufacturing facility, installation firm, or port as defined in §5.6;
Recipient is located in a UK deprived area (England: local authorities with 1–4 deprivation measures in the bottom quartile of DLUHC's "Levelling Up" dataset; Northern Ireland: data zones in deciles 1–5 of NIMDM 2017; Scotland: data zones in deciles 1–5 of SIMD 2020 or ports/port-adjacent areas in deciles 1–2 on "geographic access to services"; Wales: data zones in deciles 1–5 of WIMD 2019);
Recipient is a signatory of the interim Fair Work Charter (exemptions for ≤50-staff SMEs and new facilities not yet in commercial production by CfD results).

Criterion 2 — Investment in more sustainable means of production:

Recipient is a manufacturing facility or installation firm;
Recipient's owner/operator has committed to or set a Science-Based Target via the SBTi by the first day of the CIB application window;
SBT targets must be committed, set, validated and communicated by the Generator's Milestone Delivery Date.

The "minimum SBT coverage" threshold for C2 is 40% for fixed-bottom and FLOW. This is the proportion of supplier base that must set SBTs above what would be "business-as-usual" before the C2 score begins rising above zero.

6.4 Scoring formulas

Criterion 1 raw score:

Raw Score (C1) = Value of Generator's Investment / Cost of CIB Proposal

Scores of 0 if the ratio ≤ 1. Normalised score:

Normalised Score (C1) = ((Raw Score − 1) / (14 − 1)) × 100

— minimum 0, no upper cap (AR7 capped this at 100; AR8 removes the cap).

Criterion 2 raw score:

Raw Score (C2) = (Proportion of suppliers that set SBTs above the minimum × 100) / (Cost of CIB proposal (£m) per GW of project capacity)

where the proportion-above-minimum is calculated as:

Proportion = (Components supplied by firms with SBTs / Total relevant key components) − 0.4

— producing a number between −0.4 and 0.6. "Total number of relevant key components" is 14 for fixed-bottom and 16 for FLOW. Scores of 0 if the raw score ≤ 0. Normalised score:

Normalised Score (C2) = ((Raw Score − 0) / (14 − 0)) × 100

— minimum 0, no upper cap (again AR7 had a 100 cap).

Criteria 1 and 2 are NOT weighted. All CIB extra proposals ranked against each other regardless of criterion.

6.5 Ranking and tiebreakers

Higher normalised score ranks above lower. Tiebreakers:

If all tied proposals are C1 bids: ranked by amount of investment committed, highest first.
If all tied proposals are C2 bids, or a mixture of C1 and C2: ranked by amount of CIB extra revenue required, with lower-cost proposals above higher-cost.
If still tied: electronic random assignment.

Ranking position not communicated to applicants to protect commercial sensitivities.

6.6 Budget allocation

The CIB budget has a regular budget and a FLOW sub-budget. The FLOW sub-budget can only be drawn down for FLOW-specific components (mooring, floating substructures, floating assembly, dynamic array cables). Non-FLOW investments can only draw from the regular budget.

Primary allocation by descending rank until the remaining budget is smaller than the cost of the next proposal. Where a proposal is eligible for both the FLOW sub-budget and the regular budget, it draws first from the FLOW sub-budget and then from the regular budget to cover any remainder. After that draw-down, "No further proposals will then be able to draw from the sub-budget with the next highest-ranking FLOW CIB extra proposal being assessed to see whether funding can be allocated from the regular budget" — so the FLOW sub-budget operates as a one-shot for the highest-ranking FLOW proposal that needs top-up funding.

6.7 Secondary (discretionary) CIB allocation

After CfD results, unsuccessful CIB winners (those whose CfD bid failed) release their CIB budget. DESNZ + HM Treasury decide within 30 WD whether to trigger a secondary allocation. Qualifying eligible generators (those who submitted one or more unsuccessful CIB extra proposals in the primary allocation AND were successful in at least one CfD bid AND have met minimum standards for the successful CfD unit capacity) may resubmit CIB extra proposals that were unsuccessful in the primary allocation. The value of the investment, cost, and criterion of the resubmitted proposal cannot change; only the recipient of the investment may change.

6.8 CIB contractual payment mechanics

Inside the CfD contract, Schedule 2 (Clean Industry Bonus) turns CIB Statements into cash flows. Key mechanisms:

Facility CIB Minimum Standard Performance Amount (§5) — amount Generator pays LCCC if CIB Minimum Standards are not met; capped per Instalment at SP × MO (Strike Price × Metered Output for the Instalment Interval); settled as Reconciliation Amounts through Billing Statements.
Payable Share of the Facility CIB Extra Investment Reward Amount (§6) — amount LCCC pays Generator for each CIB Extra Investment confirmed as made (in whole or in part) in the Facility CIB Implementation Statement. Partial delivery is pro-rated (§6.3).
Investment Final Date = Start Date or end of any Investment Extension Period granted by the Secretary of State (§1.1 "Investment Extension Period"). CIB Implementation Statement Application must be made by this date.
CIB Minimum Standard Performance Amount Instalments and CIB Extra Investment Reward Amount Instalments are indexed to January CPI of the year of notice and re-indexed annually (§§5.8–5.10, 6.10–6.12).

6.9 Fair Work Charter

The FWC is a tripartite agreement between unions (TUC-affiliated), business and government, with two chapters:

Independent Worker Voice — Voluntary Access Agreements with trade unions, supply-chain/contractor engagement, early implementation of the statutory "duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union" (Employment Rights Act 2025);
Health, Safety and Welfare — pro-active collaboration, elected H&S representatives, HSE inspector access, broadened trade-union representation in H&S forums.

Enforcement is via:

Direct engagement between employer and union first;
Dispute resolution application to the Secretary of State (must meet admissibility criteria set out in the governance framework);
Acas conciliation (Acas conciliator appointed within 2 WD of SoS request);
Acas arbitration (arbitrator appointed within 5 WD; hearing typically within 4 weeks; award within 21 days of hearing);
Secretary of State decision on whether the signatory has breached the FWC — the sanction is removal from the FWC signatory register. Removed signatories can be reinstated if they provide evidence of corrective action and 60 days of FWC-compliant behaviour.

Signatory withdrawal mid-CfD has asymmetric consequences, and the correct description distinguishes two cases:

If the eligible Generator or its contracted UK-based service provider(s) cease to be signatories by the point of CIB Implementation Statement, the Generator would no longer be able to receive CIB bonus payments — because signature is a non-financial CIB Minimum Standard per cib-allocation-framework §6.1(iv) that must be maintained on an ongoing basis to remain eligible for CIB bonus payments.
If a Criterion-1 supplier/port/installer included in a Generator's CIB bid withdraws from the FWC before payment, the supplier becomes ineligible for CIB investments in the subsequent round, but the Generator's CIB payment is unaffected (this is the case referenced by "Generators retain bonus payments if suppliers withdraw" in the government response).

The FWC register is public on GOV.UK with two exceptions: suppliers/ports/installers may request redaction where publication before CfD results would indicate an intended bid; names of eligible generators and nominated service providers are redacted until CfD results are released and made public thereafter.

7. Qualification requirements

7.1 CfD qualification (Schedule 5 of the Contract Allocation Framework)

The AR8 Contract Allocation Framework is not yet published. However, the scheme-changes consultation and government responses confirm the following Schedule 5 additions/changes for AR8 (relative to AR7):

#	Change	Source
1	Gate 2 connection agreement required; Gate 1 connection agreements (including "Gate 1 with reservation") excluded	`scheme-changes-consultation` §8
2	Surrendered capacity (rounds 1–7) permanently excluded	`scheme-changes-consultation` §1; Rule 5 ("Excluded Applications") retained
3	ODOW-specific eligibility criteria — Generator must demonstrate to NESO that the project is expected to satisfy the ODOW conditions by the Target Commissioning Date	`scheme-changes-consultation` §4, p.19
4	CIB Statement required before CfD application (unchanged from AR7 structurally, but the CIB Statement rules are themselves updated for AR8 per §6)	`cib-allocation-framework` §4.1

7.2 Unconsented Project eligibility

Fixed-bottom OSW projects remain eligible to apply as Unconsented Projects (AR7 mechanism preserved). FLOW and ODOW are not eligible to apply as Unconsented Projects. The Unconsented Project conditions precedent (relevant planning consents obtained + no court proceedings or court proceedings determined + not subject to quashing) track the AR7 structure.

7.3 Conditions Precedent

Initial Conditions Precedent (to be fulfilled within 20 Business Days of Agreement Date per AR7 pattern; AR8 STC §3.3 equivalent) include:

Legal opinion confirming Generator's formation and capacity;
KYC evidence;
Description of the Facility with Ordnance-Survey-style aerial map;
Description of any Electricity Storage Facility;
Process flow diagram demonstrating Physical Separation Requirement (ACT only);
Facility CIB Requirements Statement + Director's Certificate on any revisions or withdrawals (§F, "shall only apply to the Contract for Difference if the Facility Generation Technology is Offshore Wind");
Unconsented-project consent-status evidence (if applicable).

Operational Conditions Precedent include:

BSC Settlement System readiness;
≥80% Installed Capacity Commissioned (§2.1(B));
Metering Compliance Obligations compliance;
Electrical schematic diagram with Facility Metering Equipment locations;
Communications Equipment BSC-compliance;
KYC;
Supply Chain Implementation Statement (waived if Initial Installed Capacity Estimate <300MW OR Facility Generation Technology is Offshore Wind — so all AR8 OSW/FLOW/ODOW are waived);
FLOW condition-satisfaction evidence (§2.1(H));
ODOW condition-satisfaction evidence (§2.1(K), new for AR8);
Repowering Facility CP (if applicable);
Subsidy Declaration Operational CP (§2.6) — no subsidy/State aid/Union Funding received on Project costs, or such received has been repaid with interest per Condition 32.11.

7.4 Applications with errors

AR8 introduces two new legislative pathways for handling errors at the qualification stage:

NESO can issue new/amended non-qualification determinations where the original notice had incomplete grounds for disqualification, or where an application was qualified in error. Affected projects receive a project-specific pause only (general-pause option rejected). The full two-tier (Tier 1 → Ofgem Tier 2) appeals structure applies to amended determinations. DESNZ working assumption is amended determinations must issue no later than the last day for Tier 1 decisions.
New documentary evidence at Tier 1 to correct non-material errors and omissions (Reg 20(2)(c) amended). Legislative drafting to follow the Capacity Market scheme precedent (Reg 69 of The Electricity Capacity Regulations 2014). "Non-material error or omission" defined as (a) manifest and either inadvertent or the result of an honest mistake; (b) clerical, typographical or trivial in nature; (c) determined by the Delivery Body to be inconsequential to compliance with or enforcement of any requirement. Essential documentary evidence absent on application remains fatal.

8. Auction design — competition mechanism

8.1 Not yet published

The AR8 Contract Allocation Framework (the round-specific rulebook containing the sealed-bid mechanic, budget interaction, Pot Maxima, etc.) is not yet published at the time of writing. The CIB Allocation Framework is published (in draft) and the CIB auction precedes the CfD auction, but the CIB is a separate non-price competition governed by a different rulebook.

8.2 What is expected (from AR7 continuity and the December 2025 consultation)

Based on scheme-changes-consultation and the 4 March 2026 draft contract documents, the AR8 CfD auction is expected to retain the AR7 design:

Sealed-bid pay-as-clear auction run by NESO;
Pot 3 (Offshore Wind — proposed to include ODOW as a subset) and Pot 4 (Floating Offshore Wind);
Pot 3 split into Offshore Wind (rest of GB) vs Offshore Wind Scotland via within-pot Maxima, producing separate clearing prices (AR7 innovation; not yet confirmed in AR8 source documents — expected in the Pot and Price Notice);
Minimum → Maxima → Pot clearing sequence per AR7 Rule 19 (AR7 structure; carry-over not yet confirmed for AR8);
Rule 13 Anonymised Bid Information mechanic — scheme-changes-consultation §9 consulted on (a) retaining bid stack visibility for fixed-bottom OSW for AR8 and (b) expanding it to other technologies. The decision on both items remains pending the second government response;
Single sealed bid cap for technologies with bid visibility — proposed in scheme-changes-consultation §9, pending second government response;
Default bids abolished (Rule 12.9 removal) — proposed in scheme-changes-consultation §6, pending second government response. Applications with no sealed bid would be treated as withdrawn;
20 Working Day application window (AR7 pattern) ending 3 weeks later;
Independent Auditor per Regulation 36.

The addition of ODOW as a technology category raises an unresolved question: is there a separate ODOW Administrative Strike Price, and does ODOW have its own within-pot clearing, or does it share the FLOW (Pot 4) or OSW (Pot 3) clearing mechanics? The consultation states "Any technology support is dependent on future auction budget decisions which are not set out in this document". This will be resolved in the AR8 Pot and Price Notice.

8.3 ODOW gaming-risk framing

The consultation explicitly raises ODOW gaming risk: "it is also critical to ensure that if eligibility to compete alongside other emerging technologies in the CfD were extended to non-floating deepwater substructures, this does not enable gaming by more established technologies capable of deploying at lower cost, and thereby negatively impact value for money for the consumer". The technical definition of ODOW (monopile L/D ratio ≥ 18, seabed penetration ≤ 20% of water depth, jacket base ≤ 20m width, gravity base depth-averaged width ≤ 10m, water depth ≥ 50 m) is calibrated to prevent conventional fixed-bottom jackets or monopiles being reclassified as ODOW.

8.4 Default bid removal

The consultation rationale:

"Default bids do not promote price discovery and are unlikely either to represent value for money or to be successful. Multiple default bids could also unnecessarily engage complex tie-breaker rules that require consideration of the various possible combinations of tied bids that best fit within budget."

An application for which no sealed bid is submitted in the sealed bid window is now treated as if it had been withdrawn. This shifts the administrative burden of a non-participating applicant entirely onto the applicant and streamlines NESO's auction run logic.

9. Revenue mechanism — detailed

9.1 Primary revenue: the CfD difference amount

For intermittent technologies (all AR8 offshore-wind technologies), per Part 5B of the Standard T&Cs:

Intermittent Difference Amount = (Strike Price − Intermittent Market Reference Price) × Metered Output

— subject to the zero-amount proviso for negative-IMRP Settlement Units. Positive amounts are payable by LCCC to the Generator; negative amounts by the Generator to LCCC.

9.2 Intermittent Market Reference Price (IMRP)

Per Condition 21.2:

If GB Day Ahead Hourly Prices are published by Intermittent Price Sources and agree, IMRP = that price.
Otherwise, IMRP = volume-weighted average across Price Sources:

IMRP = Σ (DAP_i,t × DAV_i,t) / Σ (DAV_i,t)

— over all Intermittent Price Sources i for Settlement Unit t.
Fallback chain (seven-day-prior price → nearest prior same-weekday → business/non-business day adjustment) where no price can be calculated.

"Initial IMRP Indices" unchanged from AR7 (identifiable in v.7 STCs; v.8 draft uses the same definition structure).

9.3 Strike Price adjustments

The Strike Price is adjusted only in accordance with the express provisions of the CfD. The machinery is:

Indexation Adjustment — annual CPI-based; calculated during the Strike Price Adjustment Calculation Period; effective first day of the Summer Season each year.
QCiL Strike Price Adjustment — compensation for Qualifying Change in Law, per Part 8.
SCiL Strike Price Adjustment — compensation for Sustainability Change in Law (applicable only if Sustainability Criteria apply; typically not offshore wind).
GT Strike Price Adjustment — Generation Tax compensation, per Part 9.
TLM(D) Strike Price Adjustment — transmission loss multiplier adjustment, per Part 10.
QCiL True-Up Strike Price Adjustment — post-compensation true-up.

9.4 Billing and reconciliation

Per Condition 22:

Billing Statements delivered within 7 Business Days after end of each Billing Period (post-Start Date).
Each Billing Statement sets out the Metered Output, Market Reference Price, Strike Price, Difference, Difference Amounts, Aggregate Difference Amount, any Reconciliation Amounts, Compensatory Interest Amount, Net Payable Amount.
Reconciliation Amounts include CIB Minimum Standard Performance Amount Instalments (Generator → LCCC) and CIB Extra Investment Reward Amount Instalments (LCCC → Generator) — provided Facility Generation Technology is Offshore Wind. This is how the CIB cash flows into the CfD billing envelope.
Compensatory Interest calculated per Condition 22.6 at the Compensatory Interest Rate.
Default Interest — new for AR8 where Generator fails to provide Actual Generation Output Data or breaches Metering Access Right while LCCC has to use estimated output.

9.5 Secondary revenue: the CIB payment stream

Per Schedule 2 of the Standard T&Cs, the Facility CIB Extra Investment Reward Amount is paid in instalments as Reconciliation Amounts in the normal Billing Statement flow. Determined and notified by LCCC, indexed to January CPI of the year of notice and re-indexed annually. The amount is only triggered once a Facility CIB Implementation Statement confirms the investment has been made (in whole or in part) by the Investment Final Date (Start Date or end of extension period).

This matters for extraction: AR8 offshore-wind projects have a two-stream revenue profile — the core CfD top-up (for all Metered Output, modulo negative-price hours) and the CIB bonus (fixed instalments indexed to CPI, conditional on Implementation Statement). The CIB stream has no Metered Output linkage.

9.6 Termination

Part 12 of the STCs (Condition 51 Termination; Condition 52 Consequences of termination; Condition 53 Termination Events; Annex 1 Calculation of Termination Amount) is largely retained from AR7.

Material CIB-specific termination consequences:

Termination before Start Date: no Facility CIB Minimum Standard Performance Amount payable.
Termination on or after Start Date: Generator pays the lesser of (i) balance of MSPA not yet paid; (ii) Strike Price × aggregate Metered Output since Start Date less aggregate Instalments already paid. Settlement within 30 BD of the later of Investment Final Date / termination date / January CPI publication.

9.7 Inside Information — drafting realignment

The AR8 Standard T&Cs realign the Inside Information definition to UK MAR Article 7(1) (was FSMA s.118C / CJA s.56 in AR7). Condition 72.3/72.6 amended so that "the Generator should only be expected to consult with the CfD Counterparty as to whether Generator Confidential Information is Inside Information in relation to information that is in relation to (i) the Generator, (ii) any member of the Generator's Group, or (iii) any financial instruments, commodity derivatives, emission allowances (or auctioned products based thereon), of the Generator and/or the Generator's Group". CfD Counterparty acknowledges its UK MAR obligations when Inside Information is provided to it. Previous Limb (ii) of Condition 72.6 removed.

10. Delivery obligations

10.1 Milestones

Initial Milestone Delivery Date: 18 months after Agreement Date. Unchanged from AR7.
Milestone Requirement Notice — must include turbine size or anticipated estimated size (MW). For ODOW and FLOW, same treatment as fixed-bottom OSW.
Total Project Pre-Commissioning Costs — per MW of Installed Capacity Estimate, value set in Table I of the CfD Standard Terms Notice.
Project Commitments — Part A (General) and Part B (Technology-Specific, item 9 for Offshore Wind including FLOW and ODOW) of Annex 5 of the generic CfD Agreement. Part B §9 for Offshore Wind requires delivery to LCCC of supporting information evidencing EPC contract entry / Material Equipment supply agreement / framework + binding purchase order, AND (for Unconsented Projects) evidence of all Relevant Applicable Planning Consents obtained plus court proceedings status. "Material Equipment" for Offshore Wind is defined to include "wind turbines".

10.2 Operational Conditions Precedent

Listed in §7.3 above. Key AR8 additions: (i) the new ODOW condition-satisfaction evidence requirement at §2.1(K); (ii) tightened subsidy declaration evidence requirements under UK subsidy control rules (post-Subsidy Control Act 2022 regime, continuation from AR7).

10.3 Extension grounds

Force Majeure; TSO/Licensed Distributor/OFTO delay; MoD Radar Mitigation Scheme non-confirmation (OSW/Onshore Wind only); Relevant Applicable Planning Consent not granted/quashed/refused prior to Milestone Delivery Date (Offshore Wind excluding FLOW — AR7 mechanic retained in AR8). Because ODOW is a subset of OSW and is NOT eligible as Unconsented Project, the planning-consent extension ground applies to ODOW in principle only where the project has nonetheless encountered planning-consent delay post-consenting.

10.4 FLOW/ODOW longer Longstop Period rationale

The December 2025 consultation explains the 24-month Longstop Period for FLOW (and by extension ODOW) through three factors:

Limited port capacity for floating-foundation assembly and tow-out;
Increased weather sensitivity for the marine operations of FLOW relative to fixed-bottom;
Supply chain constraints for mooring systems, dynamic cables, and floating substructures.

The combination of these factors was judged by DESNZ to make the AR4-era 12-month Longstop Period inadequate for gigawatt-scale FLOW projects. The RIC change (95%→85%) reflects the construction risk of encountering unsuitable seabed conditions post-commencement — same rationale as fixed-bottom OSW's pre-existing 85% RIC.

10.5 UCON — enhanced enforcement for distribution-connected generators (proposed, pending second government response)

The December 2025 consultation proposes contractual enforcement machinery for Unilateral Commercial Operations Notices (UCON), building on the AR5 mechanism. These changes are reflected in the 4 March 2026 draft STCs but remain formally pending the second government response:

Condition 31.13 (amended) — Generator's metering access obligation begins "with effect from the installation of any Facility Metering Equipment" (was: Start Date) — giving LCCC access during commissioning/pre-Start-Date period.
Condition 3.26A (new) — LCCC may proceed on the basis that the UCON preconditions in Condition 3.26A(B)(ii)(b)–(c) are deemed satisfied if the Generator (i) fails to respond within 10 Business Days to a request under Condition 32.1(K), or (ii) is in breach of its obligation to permit LCCC to exercise the Metering Access Right. Allows LCCC to unilaterally commence the CfD Start Date even if not all OCPs are fulfilled (payments suspended until final OCPs met per Condition 3.35).

Important precision: the 10-Business-Day period is only the UCON deeming trigger — it is not the underlying data-provision obligation. Condition 32.1(K) itself requires Actual Generation Output Data to be provided within 2 Business Days of the relevant request/day. The 10-BD window is the tolerance period after which LCCC may deem the UCON preconditions met and proceed to commence the CfD Start Date.
Conditions 10.4(C) & 18.6(C) (new) — Default Interest may apply to Reconciliation Amounts owed to LCCC where Generator has withheld data or access. Condition 18.6(C) is verbatim in the draft draft-standard-terms-and-conditions-intermittent-revenue. Private Network Agreement receives an equivalent provision at its Condition 4.4.

11. Subsidy control

The CIB Allocation Round 8 scheme has been referred voluntarily under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 to the CMA Subsidy Advice Unit. Key dates:

Referral made: 18 March 2026;
Third-party submission deadline: 31 March 2026;
SAU report due: 30 April 2026.

The SAU's scope is limited to the CIB scheme (i.e. the non-price competition) — not the CfD auction itself, which is covered by the broader CfD scheme's prior SAU reports (AR7 report dated 16 October 2025).

Scope of the DESNZ assessment referred: whether the proposed scheme complies with subsidy control requirements under the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Eligible technologies (fixed-bottom and FLOW) and approximate budget (£150m) are public; CIB AR8 allocation criteria (Criterion 1 deprived-area supply chains, Criterion 2 sustainable production) are detailed in the referral page. Contact: sau-cleanindustrybonusar8@cma.gov.uk.

The SAU's report does not have veto power but feeds industry/stakeholder confidence and Parliamentary scrutiny. It will be published 30 April 2026 on GOV.UK and should be acquired for the v0.2 source corpus.

12. Process improvements (legislative)

12.1 NESO error correction — Regulation 19 amended

NESO must correct administrative errors promptly;
New/amended non-qualification determinations must specify which eligibility criteria not met + reasons;
Project-specific pause only (not general pause to the round);
Two-tier appeals retained;
Administrative arrangements set out in the Contract Allocation Framework ahead of the AR8 window.

12.2 Tier 1 evidence flexibility — Regulation 20(2)(c) amended

Legislative drafting follows the Capacity Market scheme (Reg 69 of The Electricity Capacity Regulations 2014, as amended);
"Non-material error or omission" definition will mirror Capacity Market: manifest + inadvertent/honest-mistake; clerical/typographical/trivial; inconsequential to compliance/enforcement;
Essential evidence absent on application deadline remains fatal.

12.3 Pending Applications — Part 8 amendments

Regulation 49 widened to include applicants pending appeals to the High Court or Court of Session (currently appeals beyond Ofgem Tier 2 are not explicitly "pending");
Regulation 50(2)(c) restriction removed — Delivery Body can now be aware of pending bid contents in practice, without compromising the prohibition on Secretary of State receiving pending-bid content;
Regulation 51(3) clarified — if a pending applicant becomes qualifying after a proceed notice and the SoS does not re-run or halt within 2 days, NESO must determine whether the pending application would have been successful had it participated.

13. Timeline reality-check

13.1 Dependencies for the mid-May 2026 CIB window

CIB regulatory-reforms statutory instrument (laid Feb 2026, expected in force mid-April 2026);
FWC signatory register functional (published 9 March 2026; ~10 weeks for sign-ups);
CIB Allocation Framework (draft 16 Feb 2026) and Guidance (draft 16 Feb 2026) finalised once SI in force;
Final CIB Budget Notice (provisional to be issued ≥10 WD before window opens);
CMA SAU report delivered 30 April 2026 (no veto power, but likely to be considered by DESNZ).

13.2 Dependencies for the July 2026 CfD window

AR8 Contract Allocation Framework (not yet published);
AR8 Pot and Price Notice (not yet published — must define ODOW treatment, Administrative Strike Prices, Pot Maxima);
AR8 Application Window Notice;
AR8 Contract Budget Notice;
NESO AR8 Contract Allocation Process Guidance;
Final v.8 CfD Standard Terms Notice (draft dated " 2026");
Final CfD Agreement Generic + Phase 1 Apportioned + Phase 2 + Phase 3 + Private Network Agreement + Unincorporated Joint Ventures versions;
Second government response (from the December 2025 consultation) — needed to confirm: ODOW, FLOW Longstop/RIC, hybrid metering, default-bid removal, single-bid cap, Gate 1 exclusion, UCON changes, CPI redefinition, Inside Information realignment.

13.3 Risk of slip

The critical-path risk is the CIB regulatory-reforms statutory instrument and the corresponding CIB contract amendments (consultation closed 4 March 2026, second gov response not yet published). If the SI slips past mid-April 2026, the CIB window shifts right by the delta, which (under the tight compression) pushes the CfD window into autumn 2026. The government's provisional timeline ("opens mid-May 2026, closes end of May 2026, results by end of June 2026" per government-response-cib-reforms) is explicitly provisional and subject to final Secretary of State notice.

14. Results

Not yet available. AR8 has not occurred at time of writing. CIB results expected by early July 2026 (if window closes end of May); CfD results Q3–Q4 2026.

Version 0.3 of this writeup must incorporate:

Final CIB Budget Notice (provisional and final);
CIB Statement results by project;
Final AR8 Contract Allocation Framework;
Pot and Price Notice (Administrative Strike Prices; Pot Maxima);
Application Window Notice (dates);
Contract Budget Notice (and any Budget Revision Notice under the retained Rule 13 mechanic);
Notice of Auction dates (bilateral NESO→applicant, likely only verifiable via secondary sources);
Results document listing projects, capacities, strike prices, delivery years.

15. Post-award developments

Not yet applicable. Second-pass writeup after CfD results will populate this section.

Specific monitoring items to track once AR8 clears:

CIB secondary allocation trigger (within 30 WD of CfD notifications);
FWC signatory dynamics (withdrawals, Acas disputes);
OWGP Project Level Financing Agreement uptake (£10m/GW mandatory contribution);
CMA SAU final report consequences (expected 30 April 2026);
Whether any CfD project invokes the new 24-month FLOW Longstop Period extension;
Whether any ODOW project successfully qualifies under the new §2.1(K) OCP;
Hornsea 4 / post-AR6 surrendered-capacity litigation (if any) against the permanent exclusion;
Industry response to the CIB normalised-score cap removal (one high-scoring proposal could now dominate the budget).

16. Gaps in the source corpus

The following documents do not yet exist in the public domain and are flagged for v0.2 acquisition:

Priority	Document	Expected availability	Critical for axis
HIGH	AR8 Contract Allocation Framework (non-CIB)	April–May 2026	2 (Competition mechanism); 3 (Gates — Schedule 5); 5 (Tiebreakers — Rule 19)
HIGH	AR8 Pot and Price Notice	Before CfD application window	1 (Prize composition — ASPs); 4 (Scoring — pot structure); 6 (Revenue — strike price); 8 (Process — delivery years)
HIGH	AR8 Contract Budget Notice + any Budget Revision Notice	Before and during CfD sealed bid window	1 (Prize composition — budget envelope); 8 (Process — Rule 13 mechanic)
HIGH	AR8 CfD Standard Terms Notice v.8 final	Before CfD auction	5 (Tiebreakers — Table G–K values); 6 (Revenue — adjustments)
HIGH	AR8 Application Window Notice	Before CfD application window	8 (Process — dates)
MEDIUM	Final CfD Agreement Generic, Phase 1/2/3, Private Network, Unincorporated JV	Before CfD auction	1 (Prize composition)
MEDIUM	NESO AR8 Contract Allocation Process Guidance	Before CfD sealed bid window	8 (Process — NESO operations)
MEDIUM	Final CIB Budget Notice (incl. FLOW sub-budget value if disclosed)	~25 WD after CIB window close	4 (CIB scoring budget); 6 (Revenue — CIB stream value)
MEDIUM	CMA SAU Report on AR8 CIB scheme	30 April 2026	7 (Authorities — scheme scrutiny); 4 (Scoring design)
MEDIUM	Second government response to December 2025 consultation (ODOW, FLOW Longstop/RIC, hybrid metering, default-bid removal, single-bid cap, Gate 1 exclusion, UCON, CPI, Inside Information)	Q2 2026	2 (Competition); 3 (Gates); 5 (Tiebreakers); 6 (Revenue); 7 (Authorities)
MEDIUM	AR8 Notice of Auction (bilateral NESO→applicant — not publicly PDF'd)	~1 week before CfD sealed bid opens	8 (Process — dates)
LOW	Results	Q3–Q4 2026	All axes
LOW	LCCC CfD contract register post-signature	~10 weeks after results	8 (Process); 1 (Prize composition)

The manifest is also missing AR8 variant contract documents that the consultation mentions but have not been published separately: the Phase 2 and Phase 3 Agreements (Apportioned or Single), the Private Network Agreement for AR8, and the Unincorporated Joint Ventures Agreement.

17. Schema implications

AR8 exercises several corners of the auction data model that AR7 already exercised, but it adds several first-time patterns. These are flagged as schema stress-tests for the model and for the codification workstream.

17.1 Patterns reused from AR7 (continuity)

20-year CfD term with 2024 price base;
Within-pot Maxima split (OSW Scotland vs OSW rest-of-GB) — assumed to continue;
CIB as a pre-requisite non-price competition (modified, not redesigned);
Rule 13 Anonymised Bid Information → Budget Revision Notice loop — retained for fixed-bottom OSW;
Two-tier appeals structure (NESO → Ofgem) with Independent Auditor;
Pot 3 / Pot 4 split — ODOW's placement not yet confirmed but likely within Pot 3 or in a new pot ("Pot 5") — schema question: can the existing pot model accommodate a third offshore-wind pot, or should ODOW's pot assignment be a tech-category modifier on an existing pot?

17.2 New patterns introduced by AR8

Non-binary technology categorisation — ODOW is simultaneously (a) a Facility Generation Technology in its own right and (b) a subset of Offshore Wind. Schema implication: the auction technology dimension needs a parent/child relationship (OSW →) and the ability to target clause-level applicability to the narrow child rather than only to the parent. This is the first time UK CfD drafting has needed this structure.
Project-level CIB bids — AR8 is the first round where CIB Statements are issued to "projects" (whole generating stations) and then disaggregated into CfD-unit-level obligations post-auction. Schema implication: the auction data model needs a project identifier distinct from (and one-to-many with) the CfD unit identifier, with application-time data and results-time data keyed differently.
Tripartite workforce-protection gate — the Fair Work Charter is the first CfD/CIB instrument where a trade union is a formal counterparty (via the TUC affiliation requirement) and where dispute resolution is routed through Acas. Schema implication: the "qualifying gate" model needs to support multi-party signatory obligations with external enforcement machinery (not just bilateral Generator↔LCCC obligations).
Phased-project apportionment with turbine reallocation — the draft-phase-1-agreement-apportioned introduces the Apportionment Percentage as a dynamic quantity recalculated per Billing Period based on Active Turbines per phase, with formal Turbine Reallocation Notices. Schema implication: phased offshore-wind projects cannot be modelled as static capacity allocations; the capacity-per-phase is state-dependent on turbine activity.
CIB normalised score uncapped — removing the 100-point cap changes the shape of the C1/C2 ranking distribution. Schema implication: if the model had a normalised_score: float between 0 and 100 constraint, this is now wrong. Scores can exceed 100.
Gate 1 connection agreement exclusion — the first time CfD eligibility has been tied to a specific grid-reform gating product. Schema implication: the gate taxonomy needs to distinguish internal-scheme gates (CIB Statement, OCPs) from external-regulatory gates (Gate 2 connection agreement, DCO, S.36, MoD RMS).
Hybrid metering regime — same-technology CfD + merchant facilities sharing a BMU with sub-BMU SCADA metering. Schema implication: metering boundaries are no longer 1:1 with generating units or CfD units.
Variants removed from CIB — AR7 allowed CIB extra proposals with variants (up to 3 per proposal); AR8 does not. Schema implication: if the CIB model had a variant dimension, this now needs a round-level version gate.
£10m/GW OWGP levy as CIB Minimum Standard — the first time CfD has a mandatory industry-fund contribution alongside a project-level investment requirement. Schema implication: minimum-standard proposals are heterogeneous (project-level investments AND sector-level levy contributions).
CIB budget in absolute £ (not £m/GW-applying) — simpler expression; schema implication: the budget-type field needs to distinguish absolute, per-GW-applying, per-GW-awarded.

17.3 Revisions to the schema sketch (proposed)

R24 (auction technology taxonomy): introduce a parent/child relationship on Facility Generation Technology to model OSW → {fixed-bottom, FLOW, ODOW} and similar subset relationships. Clause-level applicability must target either the parent or the child.
R25 (qualifying gates): model external-regulatory gates (Gate 2, DCO, S.36, MoD RMS) as first-class gates alongside internal-scheme gates, with distinct satisfaction/evidence paths.
R26 (non-price competition project/CfD-unit hierarchy): support project-level applications with post-auction CfD-unit disaggregation, including capacity adjustment and proposal assignment.
R27 (tripartite signatories): support multi-party obligations routed through external dispute resolution (Acas), including signatory withdrawal consequences that differ by party.
R28 (dynamic apportionment): support turbine-level activity-dependent apportionment percentages for phased projects with turbine reallocation notices.

18. Canonical source-doc table (v0.1)

Slug	Document	Pages	Role	Issuer	Published
`scheme-changes-consultation`	AR8 scheme-changes consultation	41	Primary source: all December 2025 AR8 proposals	DESNZ	16 Dec 2025
`government-response-legislative-changes`	Government response to legislative proposals	16	Confirms Reg 19, Reg 20(2)(c), Reg 49/50/51 amendments	DESNZ	20 Mar 2026
`government-response-cib-reforms`	Government response to CIB reforms consultation	— (HTML)	CIB scheme reforms summary (workforce, skills, onshore, process)	DESNZ	4 Feb 2026
`draft-cfd-agreement-generic`	Draft CfD Agreement (Generic) — 2nd consultation version	32	The project-specific CfD contract template with ODOW drafting	DESNZ/LCCC	4 Mar 2026
`draft-phase-1-agreement-apportioned`	Draft CfD (Phase 1) Agreement (Apportioned metering)	49	Phased OSW contract with turbine-apportioned metering (new for AR8)	DESNZ/LCCC	4 Mar 2026
`draft-standard-terms-and-conditions-pp1-20-defs`	Draft STCs v.8 pp.1–20 (TOC + top defs)	20 / 592	Structural navigation + A-word definitions	DESNZ	2026
`draft-standard-terms-and-conditions-cps-milestones-capacity`	Draft STCs v.8 pp.73–94 (Parts 3–4)	22 / 592	Conditions Precedent, Milestones, Installed Capacity adjustments	DESNZ	2026
`draft-standard-terms-and-conditions-intermittent-revenue`	Draft STCs v.8 pp.107–135 (Part 5B + 6)	29 / 592	Intermittent payment calc (IMRP, Strike Price Adj); Billing & Payment; new UCON/Default Interest provisions	DESNZ	2026
`draft-standard-terms-and-conditions-schedules-cp-cib`	Draft STCs v.8 pp.262–290 (Schedules 1–2)	29 / 592	Full CP schedule incl. new ODOW §2.1(K); full CIB Schedule 2 payment mechanics	DESNZ	2026
`cib-allocation-framework`	Draft CIB Allocation Framework, 2026	37	Primary source for CIB scoring, ranking, budget mechanics	DESNZ	16 Feb 2026
`cib-guidance`	Draft CIB Guidance (monitoring implementation)	15	Fixed-bottom and FLOW monitoring procedures	DESNZ	16 Feb 2026
`fair-work-charter`	Interim Fair Work Charter for Offshore Wind	17	Tripartite workforce-protection charter + Acas dispute resolution	DESNZ + TUC unions + industry	9 Mar 2026
`cma-sau-referral`	CMA Subsidy Advice Unit referral (AR8 CIB scheme)	— (HTML)	Scheme scrutiny under Subsidy Control Act 2022	DESNZ → CMA SAU	18 Mar 2026

19. list — items requiring primary-source confirmation

**** Earlier draft assumed a parallel AR8a round by analogy to AR7/AR7a. Primary sources published to date (notably the "Contracts for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round 8: Supply Chain Plan questionnaire and guidance for solar applicants" on GOV.UK) indicate that solar and onshore wind are applying within AR8 itself via the Supply Chain Plan route, with CIB confined to offshore wind in AR8 and onshore wind CIB deferred to AR9. The "AR8a" construct has accordingly been deleted from this writeup. Pot 1/Pot 2 structure within AR8 to be confirmed in the AR8 Pot and Price Notice.
**** Pot structure for ODOW — whether ODOW sits within Pot 3 (Offshore Wind including fixed-bottom + ODOW) alongside FLOW in Pot 4, or whether a new Pot 5 is created for ODOW. Expected in AR8 Pot and Price Notice.
**** Sealed-bid visibility expansion beyond fixed-bottom OSW for AR8 — the December 2025 consultation invited views; decision awaits second government response.
**** AR8 CIB window dates — cib-allocation-framework §4.6 fixes the window length at 7 Working Days but the dates themselves will be set in the Secretary of State's notice. The Feb 2026 government-response-cib-reforms gives only provisional "opens mid-May 2026, closes end of May 2026, results by end of June 2026" framing. Not yet confirmed in a formal notice.
**** FLOW sub-budget value — expected to be ring-fenced and (per AR7 pattern) possibly not publicly disclosed.
**** AR8 CfD application window dates — not yet published.
**** AR8 delivery years — "AR8 delivery years are not confirmed. They will be confirmed and published closer to round opening".
**** Administrative Strike Prices for AR8 Offshore Wind, FLOW, ODOW — not yet published.
**** Final CfD Standard Terms Notice Table A (Facility Generation Technologies list — now including ODOW) and Table H (Longstop Periods — now 24 months for FLOW/ODOW) — draft dated " 2026", final value TBC.
**** Whether the second government response (covering ODOW, FLOW Longstop/RIC, hybrid metering, default bids, Gate 1 exclusion, UCON changes, CPI redefinition, Inside Information) will be published before or after the CIB application window opens.
**** Transmission Performance card implications — AR8 awardees' grid-connection tie to Gate 2 means CfD and connection-agreement state are more tightly coupled than in AR7.
**** Onshore Wind £25m/GW AR9 minimum threshold — mentioned in government-response-cib-reforms but AR9 is beyond this document's scope.

20. Confidence assessment

Axis	Confidence	Notes
1. Prize composition	MEDIUM-HIGH	20-year term, 2024 Base Year, CPI indexation, ODOW added — all confirmed via draft CfD Agreement. Strike Price values not yet known
2. Competition mechanism	LOW	Full Allocation Framework not yet published; AR8 is expected to follow AR7 but with modifications (single-bid cap, default bid removal, bid visibility retention for fixed-bottom). Critical missing source
3. Qualifying gates	MEDIUM	CIB Statement gate, Gate 2 connection, FWC signature, surrendered-capacity exclusion, ODOW-specific Schedule 5 criteria all documented. AR8 Schedule 5 final version still pending
4. Scoring dimensions	HIGH (CIB) / N/A (CfD)	CIB scoring fully documented in CIB Allocation Framework; CfD is price-only as always
5. Tiebreak chain	LOW	Framework not yet published; AR7 Rule 19 likely retained
6. Revenue mechanism	HIGH	Draft v.8 STCs Part 5B + Part 6 + Schedule 2 fully captured in source excerpts. New UCON/Default Interest provisions documented
7. Authorities	HIGH	DESNZ, NESO, LCCC, Ofgem, CMA SAU, OWGP, TUC unions, Acas all mapped
8. Process/timeline	MEDIUM	Indicative dates documented; formal notices not yet issued
9. Market context	HIGH	Post-AR7 / Clean Power 2030 framing well-documented in government responses

Overall v0.1 confidence: MEDIUM — suitable for planning and schema work, but not yet suitable for extraction or seeding without acquiring the full Allocation Framework and Pot and Price Notice. Re-run this writeup as v0.2 once those primary documents are published.

21. Next steps

Fact-check v0.1 via python scripts/research/fact_check_document.py docs/research/offshore-wind-auctions/writeups/uk-ar8.md --instructions auction_schema_validation — focus on the AR8-specific design claims (R24–R28 schema revisions) and the CIB scoring formula details.
Acquire v0.2 source docs when published: AR8 Contract Allocation Framework (April–May 2026), AR8 Pot and Price Notice (June 2026), Application Window Notice (June–July 2026), CIB Budget Notice (May 2026), CMA SAU Report (30 April 2026), final Standard Terms Notice (before CfD window opens).
Map AR8 to the auction schema via /validate-auction-schema uk_ar8 — surfacing what axes the current source corpus can support vs. what must wait for v0.2.
After results (Q3–Q4 2026): second-pass writeup completing §14 (Results) and §15 (Post-award developments), plus Rule 13 Budget Revision and Notice of Auction details if any.