The Crown Estate announced on 4 June 2008 the launch of Round 3 of the UK offshore wind development programme, which aims to deliver up to 25GW of additional offshore wind energy generation capacity in the UK by 2020. This announcement, which is designed to assist the UK in meeting its share of the EU's target of sourcing 20% of energy from renewable sources by 2020, will be of interest to energy companies, financiers, and other stakeholders in the wind industry supply chain keen to get involved in the development of offshore wind in the UK.
Key features of Round 3
The Crown Estate highlighted the following key features for Round 3:
- the development of offshore wind farms would be
undertaken through exclusive zones (11 zones have been
provisionally identified) which would have been identified as
economically viable for wind farm development, subject to the
Government's ongoing Offshore Energy Strategic
Environmental Assessment ('SEA');
- each exclusive zone may contain several offshore wind
farm sites;
- there will be a single partner company with exclusive
development rights for each zone (either an individual
company or a consortium) which would enter into an exclusive
zonal development agreement with the Crown Estate, following
a competitive tender process. Special Purpose Companies
(SPCs) would then be responsible for the development and
operation of individual sites within each zone;
- the Crown Estate would fund up to 50% of the cost of
obtaining planning consents for wind farm sites, including
the funding of enabling works;
- responsibilities would be clearly delineated in each zone
with partner companies being responsible for securing
planning and other relevant consents for each wind farm site
as well as other key contracts (such as operational and
financing contracts), whilst the Crown Estate would provide
the lease agreement for each site in addition to supporting
the site development activities; and
- the Crown Estate will seek to facilitate offshore wind
development by in particular commissioning an initial study
of technical options and indicative costs for various
offshore grid connection models in the proposed development
zones and engaging stakeholders to identify key risks and
competing interests in offshore marine development.
Timescales
The timescales proposed by the Crown Estate for the Round 3 programme are as follows:
Key Dates |
Key Milestones |
Phase in Round 3 |
July and August 2008 |
2 workshops engaging stakeholders, including seminars with the offshore wind industry and publication of a Prior Information Notice in the EU Official Journal |
1 |
Start of August 2008 |
Invitation to submit Expressions of Interest by potential Zone Partner (and notice in the EU Official Journal) |
1 |
End of August 2008 |
Closing date for Expressions of Interest |
1 |
Late September 2008 |
Release of Invitations To Negotiate ('ITN') and key contracts |
2 |
2009 |
Development Allocation post- SEA |
2 |
Q1 2009 |
Responses to ITN and submission of bids |
2 |
Q2 2009 |
Shortlist of Partners and SEA |
2 |
Q4 2009 |
Completion of awards to Zone Partners |
|
2010-2013 |
Development – Crown Estate jointly invests up to 50% of consenting costs;SPCs formed by Partners |
Phase 3 |
2013 |
Site consents |
3 |
2014 |
Site construction by SPCs |
4 |
2018 |
First site completion |
5 |
2020 |
25GW delivery target |
5 |
Next steps for developers
The Crown Estate is to hold 2 workshops in July 2008 for stakeholders interested in taking part or supporting the development of offshore wind farms in Round 3. Companies interested in taking part in a partner company for an exclusive zone must submit their Expressions of Interest and other specified information by the end of August 2008. Successful applicants will receive an ITN in late September 2008, leading to a submission of bids towards the end of the first quarter of 2009.
To access the Crown Estate's press release, please click here.
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
The original publication date for this article was 05/06/2008.