Wind farm operators get option for area extensions

The Crown Estate has today announced plans to offer Round One and Two offshore wind farm operators the opportunity to apply for area extensions. This offer is open for any Round One or Two project which is operational or under construction, consented and awaiting construction or currently awaiting determination of statutory consents.

With many Round One and Two projects already either operational or well progressed in the development cycle, there is an opportunity for the accelerated delivery of extension schemes. The purpose of The Crown Estate’s latest offer is to realise additional offshore wind capacity which could be brought into operation ahead of Round Three projects.

Although all proposed extensions must be associated with a site allocated under Round One or Two, The Crowne Estate is inviting expressions of interest from the whole offshore wind industry as there is a possibility that new entrants will work in partnership with existing project owners on extension schemes. The following criteria will form part of the application process:

• To be eligible to apply for an extension, the original project must, as a minimum, have submitted site consent applications;
• The proposed extension must share a substantial part of one or more boundaries with the original site;
• The extension proposal must demonstrate synergies with the original site — for example, of construction, operation, improvement of economics and/or grid connectivity;
• The extension must be capable of delivery in a short timescale; and
• No maximum size of extension is set. However, the scale of the extension should be appropriate to the scale of the original site, taking into account environmental and other constraints.

Developers are being asked to register their initial interest in this process by a closing date of 9 September; a detailed application process will follow this. The Crown Estate will carefully consider the benefits of any extension application, making use of its MaRS spatial planning system to support the process before making any site awards.

Following award of site options, developers will need to carry out full Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) in support of applications for statutory consents from Government. In accordance with the findings of the Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), any proposed extension will be given careful, site-specific evaluation through the planning process and the award of a Crown Estate Lease will be dependent on the receipt of statutory consents.

This offer is in addition to the offer of extended lease durations for Round One and Two sites made by The Crown Estate in July. The site extension will be 50-year leases to allow developers a full operational period for their projects and to plan for future “repowering” of projects with new turbines.

Successful applications will help to provide a stable flow of construction projects to the offshore wind supply chain as it prepares for Round Three construction activities. The emphasis of this offer is on the timely delivery of additional offshore wind capacity following Government consent, and applications must demonstrate that extensions can be consented, constructed and operational within acceptable timescales.

The Crowne Estate anticipates the economic benefits and efficiencies provided by this offer to include in some cases the sharing of the electrical transmission system of the original project and ultimately sharing the operations and maintenance role of both the original site and the extension. There may also be opportunities for supply chain economies such as the continued usage of installation vessels and crews involved in the original project to construct an extension.

A large body of environmental data has been collected at previously allocated wind farm sites and through the recent Offshore Energy SEA. Whilst The Crowne Estate said it is committed to exploring the opportunities for additional capacity that site extensions could deliver, it is aware of potential constraints on the further expansion of existing sites and is therefore committed to a careful consideration of extension applications before making any new site awards.

“Site extensions for Round One and Two provides a unique opportunity to build on the strengths of the UK offshore wind industry,” said Rob Hastings, director of marine estates at The Crown Estate. “In the years leading up to construction of the larger Round Three projects, the extension of existing sites will provide the offshore wind supply chain with further confidence in a pipeline of construction projects. Site extensions can provide additional offshore wind generation capacity which could be installed and in operation in a relatively short timescale — lending further support to Government renewable energy targets. This announcement, combined with lease term extensions, shows The Crown Estate’s commitment to driving the UK offshore wind energy industry forward and to creating a long-term sustainable energy source.”

“This most welcome announcement underpins confidence in the sector, and shows commitment to further growth of offshore wind,” said Maria McCaffery, Chief Executive of the British Wind Energy Association. “The UK now leads the world in installed offshore capacity and the technology is set to contribute significantly to the country’s energy needs.”

Round One, launched in 2000, was intended to act as a “demonstration” round, enabling prospective developers to gain technological, economic and environmental expertise. Of the 17 projects originally allocated, seven are now fully operational and four are currently under construction.

A competitive tender process for round two sites was launched in 2003. The 15 successful projects awarded Crown Estate Agreements for Lease amount to 7.2 gigawatts, and include sites within and beyond territorial waters.