Wave and Tidal Projects
As owner of the UK seabed out to the 12 nautical miles territorial sea limit and with rights under the Energy Act 2004 to licence the generation of renewable energy in the Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) on the UK’s continental shelf to 200 nautical miles, The Crown Estate plays an important part in the development of the UK’s renewable energy industry.
We are committed to working with government departments, stakeholders and industry in realising renewable energy targets and successfully exploiting the country’s significant wave and tidal energy resource.
We have been directly involved in the establishment of test site facilities for wave and tidal renewable energy devices in Orkney (European Marine Energy Centre) and Cornwall (Wave Hub), and we encourage developers to investigate the facilities offered at these test sites in respect of their requirements for the testing of devices.
In order that industry may progress with its own timetable for in situ development and testing of devices and technology, we have also drawn up protocols for the provision of lease options for experimental and pre-commercial device deployment at suitable locations, where sound reasons prevail for not being able to utilise existing test facilities.
Details of our protocols are provided on the application process page, and we recommend that developers contact us in the first instance to discuss their proposals.
This information is updated on a regular basis so please visit again to check for any updates.
Marine Energy Development Opportunity in the Pentland Firth Strategic Area
The Crown Estate announced on 29 September 2008 an application process for commercial sea bed lease options in the Pentland Firth and surrounding area for marine energy devices. It is the first marine power location to be made available for commercial development in Scotland, and indeed anywhere in the UK. Project developers awarded an Agreement for Lease will apply to the Scottish Government for statutory consent. The announcement follows completion of a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) assessing the potential for wave and tidal energy in Scotland by the Scottish Government in 2007.
The development timetable for the Pentland Firth Strategic Area is as follows:
- 17 November 2008 – invitation for pre-qualification goes live.
- Noon, 19 December 2008 - invitation closes and pre-qualification assessment begins.
- Week beginning 26 January 2009 – application portal opens to those organisations passing the pre-qualification assessment. Tender period begins.
- Noon, 24 April 2009 – competition application period closes. Detailed evaluation process begins.
- Summer 2009 – decisions taken over award of agreements for lease.
Interested parties have until noon on the 19 December 2008 to register their interest in securing a seabed lease in the Pentland Firth strategic area and can register their interest at:
No applications will be accepted for the Pentland Firth strategic area without following the due process that begins with registering an interest by the deadline and in the manner highlighted above. Details of the registration process will be widely publicised in addition to being published on this website.
Further opportunities will be offered in the Pentland Firth strategic area in future years. While the Pentland Firth is currently the area of primary interest for commercial marine energy development, other areas with suitable wave and tidal resources will be offered to the market in due course taking into account a range of factors, including developer interest. Locations outside Scotland are first expected to have to undertake an SEA.
Applications for demonstration projects (for limited durations and for up to 20 devices and not more than 10 MW aggregate capacity) can still be made for other areas in Scotland and elsewhere. Please follow the link to our application process page.
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