Same as Crown Estate Scotland , the Crown Estate responsible for managing the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland announced today (7 November) it will consider new leasing for offshore wind projects.
The Crown Estate said it will be working with the offshore wind sector and stakeholders to consider making new seabed rights available to offshore wind developers. The scale, form and location of new rights will be considered over the course of the next year to enable sustainable deployment to 2030 and beyond, according to Will Apps, Head of Energy Development at the Crown Estate.
Huub den Rooijen , Director of Energy, Minerals and Infrastructure at The Crown Estate, said: “With costs continuing to come down at a pace and Government looking at further opportunities for additional offshore wind deployment in the 2020s, it is the right time to consider what additional seabed rights may be needed to help secure the UK’s clean energy future.”
The Crown Estate stated that this move recognises the industry’s ongoing development of an ambitious Sector Deal for offshore wind, adding that the leasing announcement follows the UK Government’s backing for offshore wind in the Clean Growth Strategy and the recent Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction which demonstrated significant cost reduction.
UK Energy Minister, Richard Harrington , said: “Our Clean Growth Strategy sets out that the UK could support another 10GW of offshore wind in the 2020s, with the opportunity for more if it’s cost effective. This announcement today is an important step towards these future projects.”
More information on future offshore wind leasing activity will be released in early 2018.