The Crown Estate has said it will make alterations to the next Offshore Wind Leasing Round in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in response to feedback from developers.
The changes to the design were announced last night and presented to 100 offshore wind representatives in Central London, but the alterations won’t be enacted until later this year.
The Crown Estate said the consultation was an 18 month process in which it “listened” to the concerns of offshore wind firms.
The next offshore wind licencing round – also known as the Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction – will make up to 7 gigawatts (GW) of seabed rights available.
Jonny Boston, business development manager at The Crown Estate, said: “The UK offshore wind sector, the world’s leading market, has matured and evolved significantly since our last major leasing round, over a decade ago.
“In light of this, and building on continued market and government appetite, we have been working closely with industry and stakeholders over many months, listening to their feedback to help inform the design of Leasing Round 4.
“Our goal has been to design a process that is attractive, accessible and fair, supports the sustainable development of the seabed and ultimately delivers a robust pipeline of new projects that will help the UK’s transition to a low carbon economy.
“Today’s update confirms the tender design for Round 4, giving developers as much information as possible, to inform their planning ahead of launch later this year.”
Changes will include a new pre-qualification stage, greater transparency on cost, location and capacity and rental discounts to promote innovation.
Developers would retain the opportunity to bid as a consortium but the new rules would restrict firms to participating as “a single bidding entity rather than multiple”.
RenewableUK’s head of Policy and Regulation, Barnaby Wharton said “It’s crucial that leasing for new offshore wind sites supports the right level of ambition to meet our net zero emissions target, while ensuring value for consumers.
“By moving to multiple bidding rounds for new offshore wind sites, The Crown Estate has recognised a more transparent process is needed to avoid adding unnecessary costs.
“That is welcome and should be the principle which guides The Crown Estate in implementing this new leasing process”.
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