UK's Crown Estate awards lease agreements for offshore extensions

London — The UK's Crown Estate has awarded lease agreements to six proposed offshore wind project extensions in the waters around England and Wales, it said Sept. 28.

The projects have the potential to deliver 2.8 GW of new capacity, unlocking additional capacity in the UK's existing offshore wind portfolio.

"Reaching this stage marks an important milestone in the UK portfolio, demonstrating strong market appetite and further strengthening the UK offshore wind pipeline," The Crown Estate's head of energy development, Will Apps, said.

RWE and partners have signed four of the agreements, extending capacity at Gwynt y Môr, Galloper, Greater Gabbard and Rampion wind farms.

The six (see table) are in addition to a similar agreement for Vattenfall's proposed extension to Thanet Offshore Wind Farm, announced previously.

All the proposals have progressed through the plan level Habitats Regulations Assessment stage, which assesses the possible impact of the proposed windfarm extensions on nature conservation sites.

Developers would now focus on environmental assessments and surveys before seeking planning consent and grid connections.

The extensions opportunity, launched in 2017, is part of a wider Crown Estate program to strengthen the UK's offshore wind pipeline.

This includes the live Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4, which aims to create opportunities for at least 7 GW of new capacity around England and Wales.

"Combined with the existing portfolio of projects already in operation, construction and planning, these actions will take the UK pipeline to in excess of 40 GW," the estate said.

UK offshore wind farm extensions

Source: Crown Estate, companies, S&P Global Platts