Photo by Rogue Li
The Crown Estate has announced plans for a new offshore wind seabed leasing round targeting around 6GW or more of capacity, predominantly off the north-east coast of England. Offshore Wind Leasing Round 6 is scheduled to launch in the first half of 2027, with sites expected to be in water depths suitable for fixed-bottom turbines. The round could create up to 10,000 direct jobs and deliver an economic boost of more than £12bn, according to the Crown Estate.
Chief Executive Dan Labbad 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.”
A new planning tool
Round 6 will be the first leasing process delivered under the Crown Estate’s new Marine Delivery Routemap – a spatial planning framework drawing on data from multiple sea-dependent sectors, including nature, fisheries and shipping. The Crown Estate notes that only around 12% of the Refined Areas of Search would be needed to accommodate a 6GW round. Site details and final capacity will be refined through stakeholder consultation throughout 2026, alongside alignment with the National Energy System Operator’s Strategic Spatial Energy Plan.
Industry response
Adam Morrison, Industry Co-Chair of the Offshore Wind Industry Council, welcomed the announcement: “OWIC is delighted to see The Crown Estate bring forward plans for Leasing Round 6. This provides an opportunity to add further strength and visibility to our existing, high-quality development pipeline in the UK.”
RenewableUK’s Deputy Chief Executive Jane Cooper added: “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.”
Seabird concerns
The announcement has drawn immediate concern from conservation groups. The waters off eastern England support internationally significant seabird colonies at Bempton Cliffs and Flamborough Head, hosting hundreds of thousands of breeding gannets, kittiwakes, puffins and guillemots.
Katie-jo Luxton, the RSPB’s director of conservation, said: “We are very concerned that today’s announcement means sites off Yorkshire’s Flamborough and Filey coast remain an option for future development. The impact this could have on the UK’s largest mainland seabird colony at Bempton Cliffs, and the hundreds of thousands of seabirds that depend on this stretch of coast, is unthinkable. The next steps in the process are critical to ensuring future leasing areas avoid the most important places for seabirds. The sites closest to the Flamborough and Filey coast must be withdrawn.”
The Crown Estate has confirmed that site selection will include consideration of potential impacts on key seabird species, with further engagement and analysis to take place before leasing formally begins.