The Crown Estate: Developing an Offshore Wind
Farm into the Future
Jessica Orr – Consents Adviser
Contents
• History of The Crown Estate
• The role of Energy & Infrastructure
• Offshore wind leasing
• Strategic Workstreams
• Offshore wind moving forward
The Crown Estate - A Brief History
• 1760 George III: the land revenues of the Crown were surrendered to Parliament
• Civil List payment in return
• Similar surrender has been made by all succeeding Sovereigns
• Sovereign Support Act 2011
• The Crown Estate Act 1961: Sustainable management & long term view (commercialism and stewardship)
The ‘Marine Estate’ Coastal & foreshore
• Aquaculture
• Moorings
• Ports & Marinas
• Jetties & outfalls
• Wildfowling
• Metal detecting…….
Energy & Infrastructure
• Offshore Wind
• Wave & Tidal
• Marine Minerals
• Cables & Pipelines
• Carbon & Natural Gas Storage
• Biomass/Transmission/Energy Storage/Infrastructure
The role of Energy & Infrastructure
Leasing the seabed
Within 12nm - land owner
Within REZ - Energy Act 2004 Within GISZ – Energy Act 2008
Pre-consent agreement
Post-consent agreement
Enabling • Leasing
• Stakeholders
• Policy
• Industry development
• Investment (limited)
• ‘Enabling actions’
• Project issues
Managing • Legal agreements
• Commercial matters
• Optimising tenant activity
• Conflicts between proposed activities
• Sustainability & stewardship
UK offshore wind assets
Operating
In construction
Total
1095
369
1464
Offshore Turbines
15
5
20
20
5
25
44
9
53
23
3
26
Offshore Substations
Onshore Substations
Export Cables
Offshore Masts
*photo courtesy of Centrica
*
*
Asset base circa £12 bn Date: February 2014
Leasing Marine Renewables
• Primarily issued through Leasing Rounds
• Round 3 Zone Development Agreements = special form of Exclusivity Agreement
• Cable AfLs are appended to array AfLs later on
The approach to Round 3 leasing
Government
Zone
Project 1 Project 2
TCE support for marine renewables
• Programme management
• Investment
• Enabling actions
Supply Chain & Skills
Planning & Consenting
Health & Safety
Economics & Finance
Grid & Transmission
Strategic Workstreams: Key Reports
•Strategic Ornithological Support Services (SOSS)
•Rochdale Envelope Workshop
•Cumulative Impact Assessment
•Cost Reduction Pathways Study
•Offshore Renewables Protocol for Archaeological Discoveries
•Transmission Infrastructure Information Pack
Strategic Workstreams: Ongoing Work
• Offshore Renewables Joint industry Programme (ORJIP)
• Interim PCoD
• UKFIM
• Kingfisher Bulletin
• MoD radar mitigation
• Reporting archaeological finds under the ORPAD
• Health and safety guidelines
• Cost reduction
Offshore wind into the future…
• Changes to R2 and STW projects
• Changing R3 portfolio
• More challenging environments
• Optimising development
• Testing and developing new structures and techniques
New Leasing Activity (2013/14)
Test & Demonstration Projects
Floating Wind Project Variations Off Grid Sites
Cost Reduction (to £100/MWh)
Floating Wind & Project Variations
Floating wind:
• Locations still being finalised
• NE involved throughout our stakeholder engagement
• HRA ongoing and should be completed early April
• Sign agreements → developers to start their own stakeholder engagement
Project variations:
• Still in process of ‘matchmaking’
• Process complete summertime? Then conduct HRA if necessary…
Any questions?
Jessica Orr
Useful links…
The Crown Estate’s role in offshore renewable energy:
http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/media/387737/role-in-offshore-renewable-energy.pdf
Useful maps of offshore wind and other activity:
http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/energy-infrastructure/downloads/maps-and-gis-data/
Offshore Wind Cost Reduction Pathways Study:
http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/media/305094/offshore-wind-cost-reduction-pathways-study.pdf
Transmission Infrastructure Information Pack:
http://www.transmissioninfrastructure-offshoregen.co.uk/
