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Crown Estate funding to support coexistence between offshore wind and marine environment

By: Tom Russell 06/06/2022 The Crown Estate

General Windfarms

The Crown Estate has doubled its commitment to enable the coexistence of offshore wind farms with a thriving marine environment.

In April, the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled the UK Government’s British Energy Security Strategy which included ambitious new targets for the roll out of renewables. The new plan included a new offshore wind target of up to 50GW by 2030, while improving the environment.

Since the launch of the UK Government’s British Energy Security Strategy - The Crown Estate has committed a further £25 million into its Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme, bringing the total investment intent up to £50 million.

The programme aims to support the gathering and harnessing of necessary data and evidence to propel UK offshore wind development, while maintaining clean, healthy, productive and biologically diverse seas. It is being delivered in partnership with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), working closely with Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland government bodies, regulators, NGOs and a range of industry representatives.

There are 23 projects in the current portfolio representing £33 million of funding - £22 million from The Crown Estate's core investment fund, and £11 million of co-funding or in-kind contributions. The projects aim to find space in a busy seabed through spatial co-ordination and co-location; and are designed to inform policy and regulation to enable a more integrated design of wind farms and the natural environment. This includes potential environmental compensatory measures to address environmental impacts and support timely and informed decision-making.

The additional funding will be used to deliver research and data projects that support the acceleration of offshore wind deployment including projects that address priority bird, marine mammal and seabed habitat research gaps identified in year one of the programme. There will also be a focus on floating offshore wind and cable infrastructure. In direct response to the British Energy Security Strategy, alongside the focus on strategic compensation, the programme will support the work of the government’s new Marine Recovery Fund and implementation of nature-based design standards.

The Crown Estate stated that the programme links closely with the UK Government’s Marine Spatial Prioritisation Programme which is gathering further data and building evidence; as well as a number of other related industry initiatives, such as those led by Renewable UK, the Offshore Wind Industry Council and the Seabed User and Developer Group.

Dan Labbad, Chief Executive of The Crown Estate, said: “As the need to accelerate offshore wind deployment ramps up, restoring our natural environment has never been more important. We are committed to safeguarding the marine environment whilst shaping, innovating, informing and enabling the development of offshore wind for the long-term benefit of the nation. By doubling our investment in the Offshore Wind and Evidence programme, we can continue to provide world class data and evidence to support both government and the industry in making the best decisions to unlock the pathway to net zero, in harmony with healthy, biodiverse seas.”

For more information on offshore wind farms worldwide, click here.

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Crown Estate funding to support coexistence between offshore wind and marine environment

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