Marine – Technical study into the limitations for installation, layout & footprint of electricity transmission cables

The Crown Estate is an independent commercial business, created by Act of Parliament to manage a portfolio of property, land & marine assets. Our portfolio is one of the largest in the UK and includes the whole of Regent Street and much of St James’s in London’s West End, regional shopping centres, Windsor Great Park, hundreds of thousands of acres of rural land and coastline, and the UK’s seabed.

We are seeking Expressions of Interest (EoI) from suitably experienced and qualified suppliers wishing to bid for opportunities that we have within the Marine department for a technical study relating to offshore electricity transmission cable installation, layout and footprint. A two phased approach comprising of three stages is envisaged as broken down below. The two phases may be carried out by different organisations/consultants. We think that there is an advantage of Phase 1 (stage 1) being decoupled from Phase 2 (stages 2 & 3) in order to test the approach and assure successful outcomes overall.

To carry out this work, The Crown Estate wishes to work with an independent organisation or consultant that can be objective and impartial when considering and challenging existing guidance and practice for laying out electricity transmission cables in the marine environment. This will be important when engaging with manufacturers, developers, industry associations and other stakeholders as the study progresses.

Phase 1 (Stage 1) – Design of Approach

In order to ensure The Crown Estate is optimally managing seabed for the purposes of installation and layout of electricity transmission cables, we are seeking technical and engineering advice to understand the technical and practical limitations of maximising power transfer via electricity transmission cables whilst minimising footprint in the available seabed of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Stage 1 is comprised of two parts:

• Part 1 Information gathering exercise on current guidance and practice
• Part 2 Gap analysis and design of approach to engagement & engagement questionnaire

Estimated start for phase 1: September
Expected duration: 2 months

Phase 2 (Stages 2 & 3) – Execution and Reporting

Stage 2 will comprise a comprehensive stakeholder engagement exercise in accordance with the approach and consultees identified during Stage 1 of the study. This stakeholder engagement will establish a more complete understanding of the state of the art of technical possibilities and limitations associated with electricity transmission cable installation, layout and footprint in the marine environment. Stage 3 will be the production of final reports and guidance documents, synthesising findings of reports produced in Stage 1 and Stage 2. These reports and guidance documents will be for external publication and will be fundamental in informing how we manage the use of the seabed for electricity transmission cables in the future.

Estimated start for Phase 2: end of year (2022)
Expected duration: 4-6 months

Should you wish to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) for either Phase 1 or Phase 2 or both,  please clearly state this via email by referencing Phase 1- Design of Approach or/and Phase 2- Execution and Reporting in your email to MarineDevelopmentTenders@thecrownestate.co.uk

Expressions of interest should be submitted by COB on Friday 19^th August 2022 at the latest.