PACE is delighted to announce that it has secured Contracts for Difference (CfD) for 168 MW of solar PV capacity across eight projects in the UK Government’s Allocation Round 7a. Projects were awarded within Pot 1 at a strike price of £65.23/MWh (2024 prices). 

The outcome of AR7a was published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on the 10th of February 2026, marking a powerful endorsement of PACE’s clean energy pipeline and its contribution to the UK’s net-zero transition.

The awards provide long-term revenue certainty across a significant portfolio of utility-scale solar projects and reflect the strength and maturity of PACE’s late-stage development pipeline.

Across Allocation Round 7a, nearly 4.9 GW of solar capacity was awarded nationally, demonstrating continued investor confidence in UK solar and the role of established technologies in supporting the country’s energy security and decarbonisation objectives.

Rob Denman, CEO of Pathfinder Clean Energy, said:

“PACE is delighted to have secured CfDs for eight projects totalling 168 MW of capacity,  positioning us as one of the leading clean energy companies in the UK’s Allocation Round 7a.”

“Our internal construction team – PACE EPC – is already in construction on two of these projects with the commercial operations date in mid-2026. The remaining are scheduled to follow in 2027.” 

“This endorses our strategy to bring in-house expertise across the complete asset lifecycle – development, construction and operation – to manage risk and drive the best results for the projects and the markets in which we operate.”

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How CfDs work by Solar Energy UK

The key function of CfDs is to reduce the risk of volatile prices hitting consumers and damaging investor confidence. It thus lowers the cost of capital and in turn energy bills, while the clean generation it secures helps push expensive natural gas off the grid.

The system uses competitive bidding to keep down the cost of support for renewable energy, with operators being paid a fixed amount regardless of the prevailing price for wholesale power. When wholesale electricity prices are below the agreed strike price, operators receive top-up payments from consumers. When wholesale prices exceed the strike price, operators pay the difference back, reducing the ‘policy costs’ applied to bills.