The Crown Estate’s six proposed new offshore wind projects in Round 4 will represent just under 8GW of potential new offshore wind capacity.

Two projects are ascribed to RWE Renewables, Green Investment Group and Total, Offshore Wind Limited (a Joint Venture between Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios and Flotation Energy) both receive one project and two are held by a consortium of EnBW and BP (as detailed in another report). Noticeably half of the projects have the involvement of oil companies.

Round 4 projects will now progress to the next stage of the process known as a Plan-Level HRA. This process assesses the potential impacts of Round 4 on the UK national network of protected areas covering its most valuable species and habitats. It is a legal requirement, which must be completed before The Crown Estate can award seabed rights and is a step in helping to preserve the UK’s marine environment.

The HRA process is expected to conclude in Spring 2022. Subject to the outcome, developers would then be granted an Agreement for Lease by The Crown Estate and be able to progress projects through the planning process, in which stakeholders and local communities will have an opportunity to participate. The projects could begin to generate clean electricity by the end of the decade.

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