Tuesday 7 June 2022

The Crown Estate has doubled its commitment to enable the coexistence of offshore wind farms with a thriving marine environment as the nation ramps up aspirations to accelerate homegrown energy independence.

Since the launch of the UK Government’s British Energy Security Strategy - which raises ambitions for offshore wind generation to achieve up to 50GW by 2030 alongside commitments to environmental restoration - The Crown Estate has committed a further £25 million into its Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme, bringing the total investment intent up to £50 million.

The programme is gathering and harnessing the necessary data and evidence to propel forward the growth of UK offshore wind at pace, while maintaining clean, healthy, productive and biologically diverse seas. It is being delivered in partnership with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), working closely with Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland government bodies, regulators, NGOs and a broad range of industry representatives, all who play a key role in planning for the future of offshore wind across the UK.

There are 23 projects in the current portfolio representing £33milion of funding - £22million from The Crown Estate's core investment fund, and £11million of co-funding or in-kind contributions. The projects are helping to find space in a busy seabed through spatial co-ordination and co-location; and are designed to inform policy and regulation to enable a more integrated design of windfarms and the natural environment. This includes potential environmental compensatory measures to address environmental impacts and support timely and informed decision-making.

The additional funding will be used to deliver research and data projects that support the acceleration of offshore wind deployment including projects that address priority bird, marine mammal and seabed habitat research gaps identified in year one of the programme. There will also be a renewed focus on floating offshore wind and cable infrastructure. In direct response to the British Energy Security Strategy, alongside the focus on strategic compensation, the programme will support the work of the government’s new Marine Recovery Fund and implementation of nature-based design standards.

The programme links in closely with the UK Government’s Marine Spatial Prioritisation Programme which is gathering further data and building evidence; as well as a number of other related industry initiatives, such as those led by Renewable UK, the Offshore Wind Industry Council and the Seabed User and Developer Group.