--- title: Government hits pause on future offshore wind auctions amid cost refocus description: Next year's auction, AR9, faces delay amid a Government pledge to procure new power only where it delivers value for consumers. image: https://truenorth.scot/hubfs/DSC08344%20(1).jpg --- [Skip to content](https://truenorth.scot/news/government-hits-pause-on-future-offshore-wind-auctions-amid-cost-refocus#main-content) [![TN DARK BLUE](https://truenorth.scot/hs-fs/hubfs/TN%20DARK%20BLUE.png?width=3174&height=602&name=TN%20DARK%20BLUE.png "TN DARK BLUE")](https://truenorth.scot) [![True-North-New-Logo-Vector-Master-Rev-1](https://truenorth.scot/hubfs/True-North-New-Logo-Vector-Master-Rev-1.svg)](https://truenorth.scot) - [Our Services](https://truenorth.scot/our-services) - [PR & Communications](https://truenorth.scot/pr-and-communications) - [Policy & Public Affairs](https://truenorth.scot/policy-and-public-affairs) - [Marketing](https://truenorth.scot/marketing) - [Content Studio](https://truenorth.scot/content-studio) - [Branding](https://truenorth.scot/branding) - [Events Management](https://truenorth.scot/events-management) - [Media Training](https://truenorth.scot/media-training) - [Our Work](https://truenorth.scot/our-work) - [Our Team](https://truenorth.scot/team) - [About Us](https://truenorth.scot/about) - [True Stories](https://truenorth.scot/events/true-stories) - [News](https://truenorth.scot/news) - [Contact Us](https://truenorth.scot/contact) Search - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. [Allister Thomas, Head of Energy](https://truenorth.scot/news/author/allister-thomas-senior-advisor) Nov 4, 2026, 3:47:02 PM # Government hits pause on future offshore wind auctions amid cost refocus Next year's auction, AR9, faces delay amid a Government pledge to procure new power only where it delivers value for consumers.   Scotland is particularly exposed to the Government's new stance on offshore wind. Last week's Budget made clear that new electricity generation would only be procured where it lowers bills and can be accommodated by the grid. Treasury minister Dan Tomlinson subsequently pointed to rising network costs and the billions spent managing grid constraints, including payments to wind farms to switch off when their electricity cannot reach consumers.   That presents a particular challenge for Scotland, where grid upgrades have struggled to keep pace with renewable generation, developers face some of the UK's highest transmission charges, and much of the pipeline comprises higher-cost floating wind farms. Cost pressures are not confined to Scotland, however, as delays and overruns at major projects off England's east coast have also raised questions about the cost of delivering offshore wind.   From the Treasury's perspective, the focus on consumer costs makes sense. But there is a tension with the Government's promise of growth in every postcode. A focus on short-term savings risks sacrificing the investment and jobs that offshore wind could bring to northern Scotland, with benefits for the wider UK economy.   Energy Minister Michael Shanks has indicated that the next auction, AR9, anticipated for next year, is likely to be delayed while the Government considers reforms to the Contracts for Difference scheme. A delay to allow meaningful reform is not necessarily a bad thing, but uncertainty over the scope and timing of those changes risks undermining investor confidence.   Industry will be looking for clear reassurance of the Government's commitment to renewable energy development in Scotland, a timetable for the reforms, and confirmation that changes intended to improve locational signals will not introduce geographic restrictions. There is also an opportunity to use the delay to progress reform of transmission charges, with the Energy Independence Bill providing a potential legislative route.   There is a logic to aligning future auctions with decisions about where new generation should be built and its wider costs to the electricity system. But for Scotland, a potentially more consequential decision is approaching: the Government's choice of preferred pathway for the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP), which will shape Britain's electricity system through to 2050.   Only two of the six pathways under consideration are understood to accommodate Scotland's full ScotWind pipeline. Cost and near-term deliverability were already expected to weigh heavily in the decision. The Treasury's increasingly firm emphasis on consumer bills, grid constraints and wider system costs over the past week only reinforces concerns that Scotland's offshore wind ambitions could be significantly scaled back.   Crown Estate Scotland estimates ScotWind and INTOG could unlock £96.1bn in investment and support more than 21,000 jobs annually if projects proceed. That opportunity has not materialised and it is a prize which could be lost.   Constraint payments have long been a problem, and the Scottish Government must also act with greater urgency on critical grid infrastructure. Several major substations remain caught up in appeals following local authority refusals. With these cases already well advanced, decisions are needed to help deliver the grid upgrades Scotland requires.   Developers, meanwhile, should make clear that much of their pipeline will not begin generating until the 2030s, when major transmission upgrades are expected to be operational, helping to reduce constraint costs. Today's grid bottlenecks should not dictate tomorrow's investment decisions.   Industry must also do more to highlight the industrial benefits offshore wind could deliver for Scotland. Billions in potential investment and thousands of jobs are at stake, but much of that opportunity has yet to materialise. With the Energy Profits Levy continuing to undermine North Sea investment, most of Acorn's promised £200m grant support being replaced by potential loans or equity, and £500m cut from hydrogen funding, it is increasingly difficult to see where the investment and jobs needed for Scotland's industrial transition will come from.   Meanwhile, the long-awaited Energy Independence Bill is being introduced at Westminster today.   Its key provisions include:   Oil and gas The Bill ends new exploration licensing but introduces Transitional Energy Certificates (TECs), enabling further production in already-explored areas, including through existing infrastructure. The Government estimates this could unlock around 60 million barrels of oil and support hundreds of jobs. That is a relatively modest opportunity, compared to 380 million barrels of UK oil and gas production in 2025, even after decades of decline. The Energy Profits Levy also remains in place until March 2030 unless its early-exit mechanism is triggered, leaving the commercial case for further North Sea investment challenging. The Bill also replaces the North Sea Transition Authority's principal objective of maximising economic recovery with new objectives covering economic value, net zero and the transition, including workers, communities and supply chains.   Offshore workers Extending employment rights and protections to offshore renewable energy workers beyond UK territorial waters, bringing them more closely into line with oil and gas workers.   Community benefits New onshore wind and solar projects above 5MW could face mandatory community benefit agreements, while communities would have opportunities to acquire ownership stakes of up to 20%.   Network charging Powers to support reforms under the Government's Reformed National Pricing programme, potentially affecting Scotland's high and unpredictable transmission charges (TNUoS). The details remain to be determined.   Consumer protection Stronger Ofgem powers to tackle unfair practices by energy companies and brokers, alongside legislation to maintain the transfer of 75% of domestic Renewables Obligation costs from electricity bills to public funding until 2029. 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