Negative
Setback or risk materialised
High Impact
Major milestone or critical setback
DESNZ published the Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 7 (AR7) results on 14 January 2026, awarding a record 8.4 GW of offshore wind capacity. The 2 GW West of Orkney Windfarm — fully consented since June–July 2025 and one of the most advanced ScotWind sites — was not among the successful AR7 bidders. The consortium (Corio Generation, TotalEnergies, RIDG) subsequently confirmed (BBC, 21 January 2026; John O'Groat Journal, 23 January 2026) that elevated Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) charges in the north of Scotland made the project uncompetitive against AR7 winners located further south. Successful AR7 offshore wind awardees included Berwick Bank Phase B (1,380 MW), Dogger Bank South East and Dogger Bank South West (combined ~3 GW) and the 92.5 MW Pentland floating wind project; West of Orkney's absence from the awards list is treated by the developer as the trigger for the project's January 2026 investment pause. The withdrawal/no-bid status reflects an own-decision not to enter on viable terms rather than a regulatory rejection. The developers have indicated they will not re-engage with CfD allocation rounds (including AR8) until TNUoS reform delivers a level playing field, with full reform scheduled by 2029 under the REMA Reformed National Pricing workstream following Ofgem's 23 October 2025 Final Decision on CUSC modification CMP444 (Introducing a cap and floor to wider generation TNUoS charges; https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-10/CMP444%20-%20Final%20Decision.pdf) which rejected NESO's proposal.