The Crown Estate, which manages the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, has set out further details of a new leasing round for three commercial-scale floating wind projects in the Celtic Sea off the coast of South Wales and South West England.
The new wind farms will have a combined capacity of up to 4.5GW and are expected to be the first phase of commercial development in the region. This latest leasing programme will be known as Round 5, following four previous leasing rounds by The Crown Estate. An Information Memorandum published also includes details of a series of contractual commitments for developers to create positive social and environmental impacts, focused on skills and training, tackling inequalities in employment, environmental benefits and working with local communities. Bidders will also be required to demonstrate commitments for the timely access to the port infrastructure needed to successfully develop their projects. The Crown Estate has also outlined its intention to bring forward a new pilot fund to help accelerate supply chain projects, with an initial focus on opportunities arising from Round 5. Further details are expected to be set out in the first part of 2024.
