London, 13 May 2026 – New analysis from energy think tank Ember shows that 15% of British power generation is currently priced independently from gas, from 10 GW of renewables covered by the price-setting Contracts for Difference scheme.
This is set to grow to a third (36%) of British power by 2030. Already up to 36 GW of competitively-priced new wind and solar is under development in the scheme by 2032.
Gas usually sets the price of power under the market’s marginal pricing structure, as the most expensive form of power generation. However, renewables priced under the Contracts for Difference scheme are not subject to this, and have the price of power fixed through competitive auctions.
Prices under the Contract for Difference scheme have fallen since the scheme was introduced. The 2025 price auctions settled at £65.20/MWh for solar and £91.20/MWh for offshore wind. This means new solar power is far below the price of gas power, though offshore wind remains similar to the pre-crisis average cost of gas power in 2026 (£89.30/MWh in Jan-Feb).
New wind and solar contracts are priced far cheaper than the elevated price of gas power in Mar-Apr 2026, which jumped to an average of £108/MWh and looks to remain volatile as geopolitical conflict continues.
