The UK will hold renewable energy auctions annually instead of every two years, responding to a long-held call by developers in one of the world’s top offshore wind markets.

Yearly auctions for guaranteed contract-for-difference (CfD) deals will begin from the fifth allocation round, scheduled to open in March 2023, said the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

The UK CfD programme has been widely hailed as one of the world’s most successful renewable energy support mechanisms, but only four auctions have been held since it launched in 2014, with the latest set to award 12GW or more of guaranteed power deals as soon as April this year.