Lease extensions agreed for seven offshore wind farms

New leases have been agreed for the extension of seven offshore wind farms with the capacity to generate nearly as much electricity as the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.

The Crown Estate, which owns the rights to develop on the seabed off the UK coastline, said that it had completed a plan level habitats regulations assessments for applications to extend seven existing offshore developments.

The seven extensions are at the Dudgeon, Galloper Greater Gabbard, Gwynt y Môr, Rampion, Sheringham Shoal and Thanet offshore wind farms.

The 2.85GW of new capacity across the seven projects (Hinkley Point will generate 3.2GW) will now progress to the award of rights.

However, the eighth application, for Danish company Orsted’s Race Bank extension project, the majority of which sits within the Inner Dowsing, Race Bank and North Ridge Special Area of Conservation (SAC), will not proceed to award of leasing rights.

The plan level assessment determined, based on the best available evidence, that it would not be possible to rule out an adverse effect on the integrity of the SAC.

While the estate could have pursued an opt out from the habitats regulations for Race Bank, this would have caused a delay in awarding rights for the seven other proposed extensions.

The estate said it will continue to work with the developers of Race Bank extension to consider next steps for the scheme.

The assessment, which is a requirement of the habitats regulations, assessed the potential impact of the proposed windfarm extensions on nature conservation sites of European importance.

The developers of the seven extensions will now progress with project specific environmental assessments and surveys before seeking planning consent for their projects through the statutory process.

To help developers’ consideration of the location of their transmission system infrastructure including export cabling, the Crown Estate has developed a cable route protocol, which has been incorporated into the HRA.

Will Apps, head of energy development at the estate, said: “Project extensions offer an efficient opportunity to unlock almost a 10% increase in the UK offshore wind portfolio, supporting the continued growth of the development pipeline and demonstrating continued strong market appetite for new projects in UK waters.

“In today’s increasingly busy sea-space, a collaborative approach will become all the more crucial, ensuring that the continued ambitious growth of offshore wind happens in balance with the wide range of other interests offshore. We’ll continue to work closely with customers, stakeholders and government to address spatial challenges, in support of responsible, future deployment of UK offshore wind.”

The announcement was welcomed by RenewableUK, whose head of external affairs Luke Clark said: “These seven successful projects can make a significant contribution to reaching net zero emissions at low cost and bring billions of pounds of new investment to the UK, boosting the economies of coastal communities in particular.

“The Crown Estate and Orsted have made clear that they will work together to explore further options for Race Bank Extension.  This shows that the planning process is dynamic and robust, and that the views of all stakeholders are being considered carefully, to ensure that we maximise the benefits of offshore wind for the UK.”