Introduction
Renewable energy is central to the government's objectives to secure diverse energy supply and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60% by 2050. The government has set a target to generate 10% of our electricity supply from renewable sources by 2010. With onshore windfarms already making a considerable contribution in the UK, the new horizon for larger scale development lies offshore.
Offshore wind is a new activity for The Crown Estate and areas of seabed have been made available through two rounds of development. By efficiently harnessing the wind to generate electricity, these developments will play a major role in helping the UK government to deliver its targets.
A New Industry Emerges
The Crown Estate announced the first round of UK offshore windfarm development in December 2000. The response from potential developers was enthusiastic. In April 2001, eighteen companies successfully pre-qualified for site development options and to date five windfarms have been built: Barrow off the South Cumbrian coast, North Hoyle off north Wales, Scroby Sands off Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, Burbo Bank off The Wirral, and Kentish Flats in the Thames Estuary region, all of which are generating renewable energy. There are a number of others either under construction or planned for the near future.
Following the success of this first round and further development of government policy, the DTI requested The Crown Estate to announce a competitive tender process for a second round of larger sites in July 2003.
Further details about rounds one and two can be found by visiting our phases of development page. A plan showing the site boundaries of round one and two projects is available below (last updated April 2008). Our marine estate map also provides project-specific details.
Leases and Consents
As landowner of the seabed and areas of foreshore by virtue of the Crown Estate Act 1961, The Crown Estate’s permission is necessary to place structures on or pass cables over the seabed and its foreshore. In addition to permission from the landowner potential developers also require statutory consents from a number of government departments responsible for the offshore wind development process. Only when all the necessary statutory consents are obtained will The Crown Estate grant a lease for development. We issue leases for the development of sites within the 12 nm (nautical mile) territorial limit, whilst the Energy Act 2004 gives us rights to issue leases for development beyond the territorial limit within Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) out to 200 nm. Round one full term leases are for twenty-two years with a further three years allowed for decommissioning. For the largest round two projects the full term lease is for fifty years.
Standard round one and round two lease documentation can be found at the following links:
Environment and Management
As with all development there are environmental considerations and potential impacts that need to be addressed. As part of the consenting process developers are required to submit environmental statements, following the completion of an environmental impact assessment. As a responsible landowner, The Crown Estate also supports research aimed at understanding and mitigating the impacts of offshore development. In 2001 we established COWRIE, a fund which commissions generic research specific to the offshore wind industry. Our marine communities fund, which is part of our programme of marine stewardship, also funds educational and community focused projects. Alongside COWRIE, BERR have set up a Research Advisory Group (RAG) which identifies and coordinates research undertaken by government departments.
Working Together
Being a new marine industry we are encouraging offshore windfarm developers to establish good working relationships with the existing marine community and other sea users. We hope the offshore renewables energy sector will benefit from the experience of others such as the oil and gas sector and the marine aggregates industry in addressing emerging environmental issues such as cumulative and in-combination effects. Developers are also working together in regional groups to address common issues; DTI have established liaison groups with specific interests such as navigation and fishing. The British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) is the trade association that represents the industry. It acts as a central point for information and as a lobbying group to promote wind energy to government and provide a forum for the UK wind industry.
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