Our Involvement
The Crown Estate, especially the marine estate, plays an important part in the development of the UK’s energy and telecoms industries.
Until recently our involvement was primarily with the oil and gas sector and telecoms operators, who require leases or licences from us in order to lay cables and pipelines across the seabed out to the 12nm (nautical mile) territorial limit. The development of the wind energy sector adds a further important dimension to The Crown Estate's role in the generation of offshore renewable energy. Within the territorial limits we lease areas of seabed for offshore windfarm development in support of the BERR (formerly Department of Trade and Industry), the government department responsible for energy policy.
The Energy Act 2004 created a ‘Renewable Energy Zone’ (REZ) on the UK continental shelf out to 200nm and rights to licence the generation of renewable energy in the REZ were vested in The Crown Estate.
Marine Renewable Energy: Drivers for Change
Following the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 the UK Government set itself a target of a 20% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from 1990 levels by 2010. In 2000, with a view to achieving this goal, the UK initiated a climate change programme which also introduced a renewables obligation. This obligation requires all licensed electricity companies to source 10% of the electricity they supply from renewable sources by 2010, increasing to 15% by 2015.
The 2003 Energy White Paper ‘Our Energy Future – Creating a Low Carbon Economy’ recognised that a key contributor to achieving the above targets would be offshore wind energy. The UK is considered to be the windiest country in Europe and as such is ideal for an offshore wind energy programme.
The Future
The establishment of this new marine industry was marked in November 2003 with the commissioning of the UK’s first commercial-scale offshore windfarm off the north Wales coast at North Hoyle. This was just the first step in the current development of a number of windfarms around the coast that will make a significant contribution to the security of energy supplies in the UK.
Even though windfarms are leading the way in terms of offshore renewable energy, using the most advanced and proven technology, wave and tidal devices also offer potential for the future. At present only prototype devices are operating at sites around the UK, helping to develop our understanding of this exciting new energy source.
Further Marine Links
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