Round 3 overview
On 10 December 2007, John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, announced the commencement of a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to examine 25 GW (gigawatts) of additional UK offshore wind energy generation capacity by 2020. This follows the 8 GW planned for Rounds 1 and 2 - for further information about Round 1 and 2 offshore wind farm projects around the UK, please visit:
Delivery of the scale of capacity required by Round 3 will require extensive engagement with many stakeholders and a massive investment in onshore and offshore energy infrastructure and supply chains. The EU renewables target to source 20% of Europe’s energy from renewable by 2020 is an ambitious one. Offshore wind energy is expected to provide a large share towards our UK renewable electricity. The Crown Estate is therefore taking a different approach to that employed by the first two rounds of development to ensure that we have the best chance of delivering of Round 3 more within the time required.
The two key activities that will contribute to delivering a further 25 GW from offshore wind farms are: (1) the government’s UK offshore energy SEA; and (2) The Crown Estate’s Round 3 programme.
UK offshore energy SEA
On 10 December 2007, the then Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform launched a SEA of UK waters to open up the seas to up to 33 GW of offshore wind energy. This was to determine the location of sensitive sites and the most appropriate sites for offshore wind farm development.
Full details of the SEA process are now available on the Department of Energy and Climate Change website:
 DECC offshore SEA
Round 3: programme
On 4 June 2008, The Crown Estate announced proposals for the third round of offshore wind farm leasing. Within this process, The Crown Estate is taking a more prominent role, where it will co-invest with developers, combining the technical experience of the offshore wind industry with efficiencies generated by The Crown Estate’s access to resources and stakeholders.
The key principle underlying the first two rounds of offshore wind farm development was a robust selection process of parties to develop, construct, finance and operate designated offshore wind projects. This is being carried forward into Round 3.
The Crown Estate’s role will revolve around programme delivery and zonal contract management; the partners will work with The Crown Estate to indentify suitable wind farm sites within each zone and thereafter focus on addressing delivery of specific sites. The Crown Estate will not be involved in the construction or operation of wind farm sites.
More details on the programme can be found in the briefing note, available at the foot of this page.
Generic pro-forma agreement
A standard pro-forma agreement relating to a number of leasing rounds is available to download. This is a generic version of the pro-forma agreement, and users should note that individual agreements may vary from these standard forms. To download please follow the link:
 Pro-forma agreement PDF (220 KB)
Disclaimer for download files
The Crown Estate cannot in any circumstances be held responsible for any costs incurred by you which relate in any way to these files or their contents and The Crown Estate does not owe any duty of care to you in respect of matters arising in any way out of these files or their contents. The Crown Estate does not warrant or accept liability for either:
a) The suitability of any area identified for the purposes of specific wind farm developments; or
b) The accuracy of the information provided by this download and its contents.
You must rely on your own inquiries in this regard.
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