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The government has given the green light to six offshore wind projects to enter into an agreement or lease with The Crown Estate after they were allowed a derogation from environmental regulations.
The projects, which have a combined generation capacity of 8GW, were awarded seabed leasing rights in February as part The Crown Estate’s fourth offshore leasing round.
The derogation is part of the Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) process and can be used where projects could harm protected habits but there are “imperative reasons of overriding public interest to proceed”.
It enables projects to progress if certain tests are met, while ensuring the environmental impacts are fully offset through compensatory measures.
The six projects
| Region/ location | Successful bidder | Proposed project capacity (MW) |
| Off the Yorkshire Coast, North East of Scarborough | RWE Renewables | 1500 |
| Off the Yorkshire Coast, North East of Scarborough | RWE Renewables | 1500 |
| Off the Lincolnshire Coast, East of the Humber Estuary | Green Investment Group – Total | 1500 |
| Off the Northern Welsh Coast, North East of Anglesey | Consortium of EnBW and BP | 1500 |
| Off the Lancashire Coast, West of Blackpool and South West of Morecambe Bay | Offshore Wind Limited, a Joint Venture between Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios, S.A. and Flotation Energy plc | 480 |
| Off the coast of Barrow-In-Furness, West of Morecambe Bay | Consortium of EnBW and BP | 1500 |
The derogation was granted after a HRA identified potential adverse effects relating to the Dogger Bank Special Area of Conservation (SAC), as well as the Flamborough and Filey Head Special Protection Areas (SPAs) where Kittiwake gulls nest.
In recognition of the challenges being faced by developers as the marine environment becomes increasingly busy, The Crown Estate has developed a new strategic approach to HRAs.
The approach includes a “rigorous environmental assessment” which is supported by an Expert Working Group of relevant UK statutory marine planning authorities, statutory nature conservation bodies, relevant non-governmental organisations and the UK and Welsh governments.
For the first time, The Crown Estate has confirmed it will establish a steering group for each of the protected sites. The groups will comprise government and statutory nature conservation bodies and the relevant project developers to oversee the development and delivery of strategic environmental compensation plans.
As the projects progress, these groups will engage with the Expert Working Group to develop detailed individual site plans.
Dan Labbad, chief executive of The Crown Estate, said it was a “pivotal moment” on the UK’s journey towards net zero.
He added: “It is the result of a tremendous collective effort from industry, environmental and conservation stakeholders, governments, and technical experts who have helped shape a rigorous and evidence-led outcome.
“In convening this broad range of stakeholders, we have been able to take a more informed and strategic approach to environmental compensation than ever before, ensuring we balance our rich biodiversity with the urgent need to progress vital renewable infrastructure.
“As we continue to harness the benefits of UK offshore wind, we remain firmly committed to collaborating with these organisations to build knowledge and evidence to help us understand how the increasingly busy marine environment can continue to thrive and support the wide variety of ecosystems and industries which rely on it.”
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “This month saw the price of offshore wind fall to record lows and today’s announcement will take us another step closer to increasing current levels of capacity almost five-fold by 2030.
“We are already a world leader in offshore wind and these new sites will help secure more clean, affordable, homegrown power for millions of households across the country, while reducing their reliance on costly fossil fuels.”
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