Value chain · CLM-0277
In plain terms
The price the UK government agrees to pay solar farms, per unit of electricity actually generated, has stayed close to 46-50 pounds per megawatt-hour (in fixed 2012-price terms) across the last four auction rounds, from 2022 to 2026. This is a real, dated contract price, not a projection, but it is only paid for electricity as generated, with nothing extra for guaranteed delivery.
The claim as recorded
UK solar PV (>5MW) CfD strike prices have stayed within a narrow band, GBP 45.99-50.07/MWh in 2012 prices across AR4 (2022) through AR6 (2024), then GBP 46.82/MWh in 2012 prices (GBP 65.23/MWh in 2024 prices) in AR7a (2026); solar was not an eligible technology in AR2 or AR3.
Scope and limits
UNFIRMED generation price - paid only for electricity actually produced, no obligation or payment for dispatchable delivery. Cannot be used as evidence for the cost of firm or storage-backed solar power. AR1 solar prices (GBP 50.00-79.23/MWh, 2012 prices, 2015-17 delivery) are excluded from the headline range here because that early round used a different, more fragmented bidding structure across many small projects.
What it assumes
Subsidised (CfD top-up over wholesale reference price, not a market price); strike prices in 2012 prices (AR4-AR6), dual-quoted 2012/2024 prices in AR7a; delivery years 2023/24 (AR4) through 2028/29 (AR7a); contract length per CfD standard terms (not separately verified).
Where it comes from
AR4 Solar PV (>5MW) 45.99; AR5 Solar PV (>5MW) 47.00; AR6 Solar PV (>5MW) 50.07; AR7a Solar PV 46.82 (2012 prices)/65.23 (2024 prices).
Basis: GBP2012 (dual-quoted alongside GBP2024 in AR7a), NOMINAL contract/REAL basis-year convention, UNFIRMED
Related records
- Answers question
- QST-021 not published in this release
Cite this
energyaperture.com/c/clm-0277
CLM-0277, Energy Aperture, as of 2026.
Connected records
Other published records linked to this one. A list, not a judgement.
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- Also from SRC-166
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- Also from SRC-167
- CLM-0276The price the UK government agrees to pay offshore wind farms, per unit of electricity actually generated, dropped sharply from 2015 to...CLM-0278The price the UK government agrees to pay onshore wind farms, per unit of electricity actually generated, roughly halved from 2015 to 2022...
- Also from SRC-168
- CLM-0276The price the UK government agrees to pay offshore wind farms, per unit of electricity actually generated, dropped sharply from 2015 to...CLM-0278The price the UK government agrees to pay onshore wind farms, per unit of electricity actually generated, roughly halved from 2015 to 2022...