The seabed manager believes it could lease around 6GW or more, predominantly in the North East of England and in water depths suitable for fixed-bottom wind.
The seabed manager believes it could lease around 6GW or more, predominantly in the North East of England and in water depths suitable for fixed-bottom wind.
‘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,’ said the Crown Estate in a statement. ‘Further areas of seabed opportunity have been identified across the south west of the UK, 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.’
This will be the first leasing round brought to market using The Crown Estate’s 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.
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, said the Crown Estate.
The Crown Estate said it also seeking market views on a range of commercial approaches. The fifth licensing round awarded seabed rights to Equinor, Gwynt Glas and Ocean Winds.
