The Crown Estate has advanced to a key phase in its Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5, aiming to develop floating wind farms in the Celtic Sea, off South Wales and South West England. This initiative, first unveiled in December 2023, could generate up to 4.5 gigawatts of renewable energy, sufficient to power over 4 million homes, while also creating thousands of jobs and stimulating significant investment in the supply chain.
Benefits for communities must be identified
The second phase of the leasing process, starting on August 8, 2024, invites Bidders to propose detailed plans for the wind farms, emphasising social and economic benefits for onshore communities. These proposals must address skills development, community impact, sustainable procurement, and nature restoration. Additionally, Bidders need to identify primary and alternative ports for assembling the wind farms, with these commitments becoming contractual obligations for successful Bidders.
Dan McGrail, CEO of RenewableUK, said:
“We welcome The Crown Estate’s proactive measures to expedite the speed of offshore wind development, and encourage investment in skills, port infrastructure and new manufacturing to support the growth of the offshore wind sector in the UK.”
Credit: Nicolas Job / Ocean Image Bank
This phase follows the successful completion of the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) in June 2024, which confirmed strong interest from offshore wind developers.
Beyond 2030
A major milestone in Round 5 is the collaboration between The Crown Estate and the Electricity Systems Operator (ESO), which has produced a Celtic Sea network design recommendation titled ‘Beyond 2030: Celtic Sea’. The recommendation proposes connecting two projects covering up to 3GW of capacity into two locations in South Wales and one project of up to 1.5GW into the South West of England. This marks the first time a leasing round includes a pre-agreed plan for connecting wind farms to the UK’s electricity grid, potentially serving as a model for future projects.
The progress in Round 5 coincides with the UK Government’s announcement of a new partnership between Great British Energy and The Crown Estate to expedite the delivery of clean energy infrastructure. Supported by new legislation, this partnership aims to boost the UK’s floating wind sector and broader offshore renewable technologies, with up to 12GW of additional capacity planned for the Celtic Sea.
The leasing process continues as scheduled, with The Crown Estate expected to outline its future vision for the UK’s offshore wind industry later this summer.
Gus Jaspert, Managing Director, Marine, at The Crown Estate, said:
“The UK’s offshore wind industry is a global success story, supporting tens of thousands of jobs and contributing billions to the UK economy. As the need for new offshore wind capacity increases, we have challenged ourselves to find ways to accelerate its deployment. This includes a multi-million pound programme of technical and environmental surveys upfront, and our groundbreaking collaboration with the ESO, which means that bidders looking to develop floating wind farms in the Celtic Sea can progress their schemes in the knowledge that there is already a rigorously assessed recommendation for the network needed to connect them to the grid.