Crown Estate launches the UK’s first major offshore wind leasing round in a decade

Crown Estate launches the UK’s first major offshore wind leasing round in a decade

The Crown Estate has launched Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4, opening up the potential for at least 7 GW of new seabed rights for offshore wind development in the waters around England and Wales - enough to meet the electricity needs of over six million homes.

The Crown Estate, which acts as manager of the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, is making four broad areas of seabed available to the market, within which potential developers will have the opportunity to bid for project sites.

This launch follows over 18 months of engagement with the market and stakeholders through which The Crown Estate has developed and refined its proposals.

Huub den Rooijen, Director of Energy, Minerals and Infrastructure at the Crown Estate said:

“The UK is home to the world’s largest offshore wind market, attracting global investment, meeting UK electricity needs, and playing a crucial role in the transition to a net zero economy. Round 4 projects will take the UK sector from strength to strength, delivering clean, affordable, home-grown electricity and joining a robust pipeline of projects in UK waters, which together will deliver a fourfold increase in operational offshore wind capacity by 2030”.