Contracts for Difference: reforms to the Clean Industry Bonus, Allocation Round 8

We consulted on proposed regulatory reforms to the Contracts for Difference (CfD) Clean Industry Bonus to be implemented from Allocation Round 8 onwards.  

This government response details final policy decisions:  

• Fair Work Charter: applicants will be required to sign up to the interim Charter as part of the CIB minimum standards for AR8. Suppliers included in a generator’s CIB bids under Criterion 1 (shorter supply chains) will also be required to sign up to the Charter, with exemptions for small businesses and new facilities  
• skills: the government will proceed with the proposal to set up a collaborative skills investment fund, administered by a third party. The government will work with the offshore wind industry to establish an operational skills investment fund in 2027 
• onshore wind: the CIB will be expanded to include onshore wind from Allocation Round 9, but not for Allocation Round 8. Onshore Wind Minimum standards (set at £25m/GW) will apply only to developers seeking CIB extra funding. Onshore Wind projects entering the CfD but not applying for CIB will not need to meet minimum standards
• process improvements: the government will amend statutory timelines, introduce applications per project, formalise powers to set different budget structures, clarify clauses around force majeure, extend the scheme’s sunset clause, introduce ‘payment on delivery’
• the government will amend CfD regulations so that Contract Budget Revision Notices need only be published by the time of the first CfD notification 

We are publishing an impact assessment (IA) alongside this government response, which considers the proposed changes to the CIB scheme. The overall impact of scheme changes is expected to be positive, with uncertainties in analysis noted where relevant.

The Fair Work Charter has been created by trade union and industry representatives and is not a government document. However, the Charter has been published alongside the Clean Industry Bonus documentation given its pertinence to the scheme.

Next steps 

We will lay legislation in parliament to implement regulatory reforms outlined in the government response. In addition, we will publish Allocation Framework, guidance, and other supportive documents, which have been developed with industry feedback. 

We will replace the Fair Work Charter document published on this page with an updated version once the governance framework for the Charter has been finalised and agreed.

We will publish another consultation shortly on amending the CfD contract, to operationalise amendments related to this government response.  

The CIB window is currently set to open in May 2026, but this is subject to change as AR8 timelines are being finalised.

The consultation was published online on 23 August and was open until 6 October 2025. The consultation received 48 responses, including 21 from developers, nine from suppliers, five from trade unions, seven from trade bodies and one from a think tank.