02 Jun 2026
Photo by Georg Eiermann A coalition of offshore wind developers, vessel operators and technology providers has published a position paper calling on government and regulators to remove the barriers preventing offshore vessel charging from moving beyond demonstration into widespread commercial use. Offshore charging, where support vessels draw renewable electricity directly from wind farms rather than running […]
26 May 2026
Photo by Low Angle New legislation came into force on 21 May, reforming the rules governing how offshore wind developers compensate for unavoidable impacts on protected marine sites. The changes, introduced jointly by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, amend the Conservation of Habitats and […]
26 May 2026
Photo by Woody Wan Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced sweeping reforms to protect offshore wind farms, power stations and other critical clean energy projects from legal challenge, in a move that could significantly accelerate the consenting of new marine renewable infrastructure around the UK’s coastline. Under proposals published by HM Treasury on 20 May, Parliament […]
18 May 2026
Photo by Peter Kostov Speaking at the State Opening of Parliament on 13 May, King Charles III confirmed a sweeping legislative programme for 2026–27, anchored by an Energy Independence Bill and a Clean Water Bill. For marine professionals, the speech contained both significant opportunity and pointed omissions. “My Ministers believe that energy independence must be a […]
18 May 2026
Photo by Marian Florinel Condruz Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has granted development consent to three major offshore wind farms on the same day as the King’s Speech, adding up to 4GW of new North Sea generating capacity, equivalent to a quarter of the UK’s entire current offshore wind fleet. The decisions, announced on 13 […]
12 May 2026
Photo by Phill Brown A team of 26 scientists drawn from eleven government bodies is currently mapping the seabed off Britain’s south-west coast in what has been described as the most ambitious collaborative survey of its kind ever undertaken in the UK. The four-week mission, designated CSM2026, is being carried out aboard the research vessel Cefas Endeavour […]
12 May 2026
Photo by Igor Francetic Three ScotWind offshore wind developers have joined forces with Crown Estate Scotland and NatureScot to fund a two-year acoustic study of minke whale activity in a marine protected area that lies directly in the path of planned grid connection infrastructure off the Aberdeenshire coast. The study, led by the Scottish […]
21 Apr 2026
Photo by Michael Ziegler The North Sea is at a critical inflection point. A vast number of ageing oil and gas structures are reaching the end of their operational life and will require decommissioning, while hundreds of new offshore wind turbines are being deployed. As the basin becomes increasingly geopolitically contested, and with future considerations […]
