Total number of UK PV plants backed by contracts for difference (CfD) could more than double in 2026, if developers hit deadlines. Latest investment report from scheme contract company reveals solar holds the greatest number of contracts of any generating technology.
December 31, 2025
Matthew Lynas
The largest UK PV plant to date, Cleve Hill, was commissioned in 2025 and has a CfD contract.
Image: Quinbrook
A record number of UK solar plants backed by CfDs should come online in 2026, as contract deadlines kick in following a tendering process that saw PV secure more contracts than any other generating technology.
There are 19 deployed UK solar plants supported by a CfD according to the latest UK government data to the end of November 2025, 17 of which came online in 2025 including the 373 MW Cleve Hill Solar Park, the largest UK PV plant to date. This could more than double in 12 months. The public facing CfD register shows there are 26 not yet commissioned solar plants with longstop dates essentially the latest date a project can be commissioned that fall in 2026. These represent a combined total contracted capacity of roughly 790 MW.
Solar projects have secured the most contracts in each of the last three UK CfD allocation rounds by number of plants, although wind continues to dominate in capacity terms. The latest investment report from the Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC) published in December 2025 records a total of 199 contracts have been awarded to solar projects since the UK CfD scheme began, ahead of on- and off-shore winds combined total of 123.
Almost all solar CfDs have been secured in the fourth, fifth and sixth allocation rounds. The seventh CfD allocation round is underway, with the UK government needing to secure significant capacity in order to meet 2030 deployment targets.
The investment landscape for UK solar with a CfD remains diverse, according to LCCCs report, which found 40% of contracted projects are owned by private companies, 38% by infrastructure and investment funds, and 22% by developers. No projects sampled by LCCC had any state ownership.
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