The UK’s Crown Estate has signed lease agreements for six offshore wind projects in the UK following the Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4.
The offshore wind projects are expected to have the potential to produce about 8GW of clean energy. They are anticipated to commence production by the end of 2030.
The electricity generated from the six offshore wind facilities is anticipated to power more than seven million households.
The selected projects for the lease include RWE’s 1.5GW Dogger Bank South West and 1.5GW Dogger Bank South East, Green Investment Group and TotalEnergies’ 1.5GW Outer Dowsing, BP and EnBW’s 1.5GW Mona and 1.5GW Morgan projects and Cobra and Flotation Energy’s 480MW Morecambe wind farm.
Out of the six projects, three are located in the North Sea off the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire coast while the remaining three offshore facilities are located off the North Wales, Cumbria and Lancashire coast.
The lease agreement is for a term of a maximum of ten years.
The total yearly commitment across all six offshore wind projects is about £1bn.
The agreements are anticipated to allow the developers to advance their plans for the projects.
The offshore projects are said to have the potential to contribute to the government’s goal of achieving 50GW of offshore wind capacity by the end of the decade.
The Crown Estate CEO Dan Labbad said: “The UK’s offshore wind achievements to date are nothing short of remarkable, and this next generation of projects point to an even more exciting and dynamic future.
“They demonstrate the far-reaching value that our world-class offshore wind sector can deliver for the nation: homegrown energy for all, jobs and investment for communities, revenue for the taxpayer, clean energy for the benefit of the environment and a considerate, sustainable approach which respects our rich biodiversity.
“Moving forward, working with our stakeholders to continue unlocking this value is what drives us, and we are more committed than ever to lead the way in ensuring this important benefit is realised for our environment and for the nation.”
The Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4 was officially opened in October 2019.
As per the terms of the lease agreement, The Crown Estate will draw an annual option fee from each project developer until they are prepared to enter into a lease for the seabed site.
