UK looks ahead to next chapter of extraordinary offshore wind story as plans for new leasing round in 2027 unveiled

A major new investment opportunity for the UK’s offshore wind sector is set to open next year, as The Crown Estate announces a new process to accelerate clean energy growth and deliver jobs and economic benefits across the country. 

The seabed manager has begun a programme of market engagement ahead of an intended official launch of a new leasing round, Offshore Wind Leasing Round 6, in the first half of 2027.  

The Crown Estate believes this next leasing round could accommodate a capacity of around 6GW or more, predominantly in the North East of England and in water depths suitable for fixed-bottom wind, subject to stakeholder engagement and taking into account the National Energy System Operator’s strategic plans for energy and for electricity networks.  

A 6GW capacity leasing round could result in the creation of up to 10,000 direct jobs and a potential economic boost to the UK of over £12bn - fuelling growth in one of Britain’s most exciting energy sectors. 

The UK’s offshore wind sector has become the leading source of clean energy in the UK, providing enough power for the equivalent of half of all UK homes. It attracts billions of pounds of inward investment, supports tens of thousands of skilled jobs around the country, and boosts energy security by reducing reliance on fossil fuels. 

Energy Minister Michael Shanks is set to join The Crown Estate, local and regional leaders and representatives from local businesses at the Port of Blyth on Thursday morning to discuss the huge potential of offshore wind deployment for the region. 

North East opportunity 

The Crown Estate expects the majority of sites to be off the coast of the North East of England – birthplace of UK offshore wind – with specific site details and locations to be refined through market and stakeholder engagement,  

These new leasing opportunities have the potential to realise huge social and economic benefits, including new jobs and businesses, improving energy security, building on existing local and national supply chains, and The Crown Estate will work with regional and industry stakeholders to maximise local job and supply chain opportunities. 

Last December, The Crown Estate supported 16 projects with £13m through its Supply Chain Accelerator programme, including projects in the North East. This included the Port of Blyth, which was awarded £275,000 to increase capacity and improve operational efficiency and accessibility to further support the expansion of offshore renewables. 

Dan Labbad, Chief Executive at The Crown Estate, said: “The UK leads the world in offshore wind and we should celebrate this national success story. A new leasing round centred in the North East could create billions of pounds in value for the UK economy, generating more jobs and lower cost energy for communities and businesses. We’re excited to be working with national and regional partners to turn the UK’s offshore wind leadership into the next decade of jobs, investment and energy security.” 

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “Offshore wind is one of Britain’s great economic success stories – powering homes, creating skilled jobs and strengthening our energy security at a time when it matters more than ever. By setting out this clear path for the sector’s next phase of growth, we are giving industry the long term certainty it needs to invest and deliver. 

“With North East jobs at the heart of these plans, we are driving growth across the country.” 

Energy Sectretary Ed Miliband said: “I know the conflict in the Middle East is worrying for families across the North East because when global prices spike, people feel concerned about what the future holds.  

“By building more clean, homegrown power here in Britain and backing places like Blyth, where offshore wind first took off in the UK, we can show how the country can learn the lessons from the war in Iran and cut our dependence on fossil fuels and protect people from future shocks.”  

Next steps 

The UK’s offshore wind pipeline is one of the largest in the world, with a current capacity of nearly 17GW and a further 12GW under construction. The capacity of the next leasing round will be informed by NESO’s strategic plan for the energy system and further market and stakeholder engagement. 

Further areas of seabed opportunity have been identified across the South West, Wales and other regions which may form the basis of subsequent leasing rounds through The Crown Estate’s new seabed management tool, the Marine Delivery Routemap. 

The Crown Estate will now engage further with stakeholders across a range of sectors, including nature and offshore wind, to refine exact size and locations of the sites, as well as the best approach for the tender process, including the commercial model, to make sure its design meets the needs of the market and UK.  

Leasing approach 

This will be the first leasing round brought to market using The Crown Estate’s innovative Marine Delivery Routemap which considers spatial data from a number of sectors dependent on the sea space, providing greater long-term visibility on how the seabed can be developed and to inform its future leasing, licensing and sector plans.  

This greater visibility is also supporting closer collaboration with NESO, helping to ensure Leasing Round 6 will be the first leasing round to be fully aligned with the UK’s evolving energy system through NESO’s SSEP.  

While developers will be able to choose the technology to best suit individual projects, most of the seabed areas are likely to favour the use of traditional fixed-bottom wind which benefits from established supply chains and should help provide greater certainty over project costs.  

The Crown Estate is also seeking market views on a range of commercial approaches to this leasing round to understand the potential viability and market appetite.  

Julian Leslie, Strategic Energy Planning Director and Chief Engineer at NESO, said: “As the strategic energy planner for Great Britain, we're working closely with The Crown Estate to ensure that the final outcome of the upcoming Leasing Round 6 is informed by Britain's future strategic energy needs, which will be set out in our Strategic Spatial Energy Plan. 

“By working closely with organisations such as The Crown Estate we can enable a more coordinated, efficient and effective transition by providing the government-endorsed direction on future energy requirements. This should give confidence to investors and support the timely delivery of network infrastructure, both reducing costs for the consumer whilst ensuring the optimum path to a secure, low cost, low carbon future.” 

RenewableUK’s Deputy Chief Executive Jane Cooper said: “Current events in the Middle East show just how important it is to base our future energy system on homegrown power generated in UK waters. The North Sea has become an offshore wind powerhouse, strengthening our energy security, controlling the cost of energy and moving us towards energy independence.  This new leasing round for projects off the north east coast of England will open up a significant amount of new capacity to the UK’s energy system – enough to power more than six million homes. 

“These new projects will create fresh opportunities for businesses based all over the UK to provide the high-tech components and services needed to build vast new offshore wind farms, creating highly-skilled jobs and vital economic growth, including offshore wind centres of excellence around Blyth, Newcastle and Sunderland which will benefit from the private investment and regeneration that this new leasing round will bring to the UK. 

“We look forward to The Crown Estate launching their Marine Delivery Routemap which will create visibility of a pipeline of future opportunities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, for example in the Celtic Sea, to maximize the amount of investment we can secure in the UK’s world class offshore wind sector”.