Energy

We work alongside governments, industry and stakeholders to award seabed rights and help unlock the potential for renewable energy offshore, supporting the UK’s decarbonisation ambitions.

UK waters offer world-class natural resources for the delivery of renewable energy.

As manager of the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, we work alongside industry and stakeholders to unlock its potential. We award seabed rights, incentivise innovation, build evidence and share data to support the responsible and sustainable development of Offshore Wind, Wave and Tidal and Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS) opportunities. On this page you will find links to further information about our work in each of these areas.

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Offshore wind

From zero capacity at the turn of the millennium, the UK is now home to the largest operating offshore wind sector in the world.

We play a fundamental role in supporting the UK’s world-leading offshore wind industry by identifying and leasing suitable seabed sites for development, as well as working with partners to build evidence, share data and support innovation to enable the responsible growth of the sector. Find out more through the links below.

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Video: Our role in offshore wind

Hear our team explain our role in this remarkable sector, unlocking the extraordinary potential of our seabed, to deliver clean, affordable, home-grown energy.

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Live map

Locations and outputs of UK offshore wind farms, and share of UK electricity being generated

View map

Offshore wind development pipeline

We support the development and strengthening of the UK’s offshore wind pipeline by making new areas of the seabed available for development, awarding rights for extensions to existing projects, and by facilitating test and demonstration opportunities for innovative technologies. Find out more about our current offshore wind leasing opportunities here.

Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4

Round 4, our first leasing opportunity in a decade, creates the opportunity for at least 7GW of new projects in the waters around England and Wales, delivering a robust pipeline for low-cost offshore wind development

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Offshore wind extension projects 2017

Project extensions have proven to be a successful way of deploying more offshore wind capacity in an efficient manner. You can find the latest updates on our offshore wind extension projects here.

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Floating offshore wind

As the UK’s offshore wind industry continues to evolve and mature we are working in partnership with the sector to facilitate and unlock opportunities for innovation including early commercial-scale floating wind.

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Enabling sustained, responsible growth

We work closely with the industry and stakeholders to support and enable the responsible and coordinated growth of UK offshore wind, balancing future energy needs with the wide range of interests in the marine environment. Find out more about our approach, here.

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The Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme

We are funding and delivering a programme to facilitate the sustainable and coordinated expansion of offshore wind in the UK.

Learn more about the programme

Offshore Wind and CCUS Co-location

Our work is helping to identify the key challenges and opportunities associated with the co-location of Offshore Wind and Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS) infrastructure.

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shot of the top of a wind turbine with a still sea below

The Marine Data Exchange

Access our information hub of survey data and reports collected by our offshore renewable and marine aggregates customers, one of the biggest sources of marine data in the world.

Visit the MDE

Carbon Capture Usage and Storage

Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS) is recognised as having an important role to play in helping the UK to meet its climate change target of net zero emissions by 2050.

We work closely with interested developers, with the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), and with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), to review and assess options for the licensing and leasing of offshore transport and storage opportunities.

We are able to grant seabed rights to developers for CO2 storage beneath the seabed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; within the Exclusive Economic Zone.

Any rights from The Crown Estate are conditional on the Oil and Gas Authority (regulator for carbon dioxide transport and storage) granting an offshore CO2 storage licence to the applicant.

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Wave, tidal current and tidal range

We have awarded seabed rights for a number of test and demonstration sites for wave and tidal current energy, enabling developers to install technologies ranging from small-scale prototypes to demonstration zones, in a variety of site conditions. We also offer opportunity to access seabed for wave projects of up to 3 MW, or tidal current projects of up to 30 MW, and work with industry and partners to explore the potential to develop the UK's tidal range resources.

To find out more, see contacts below.