REM: UK’s Crown Estate signs six leases for 8 GW of offshore wind projects, enough to power 7mn homes

The UK’s Crown Estate has signed six leases around the coastlines of England and Wales for 8 GW of offshore wind projects.

Together, the projects could power 7mn homes by 2030, said the government agency.

Three of the six projects are located off the North Wales, Cumbria and Lancashire coasts, and three are located in the North Sea off the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire coasts.

The signings are the culmination of The Crown Estate’s Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4.

The companies winning leases include: BP, TotalEnergies, RWE, Corio Generation, EnBW, and Cobra IS and Flotation Energy.

The UK is the second-largest centre of offshore wind development after China. It already has more than 10 GW of installed capacity in 38 projects, and it plans to increase that to 50 GW by 2030.

Offshore wind can already power some 41% of UK homes, said The Crown Estate, which has awarded rights for 41 GW of offshore wind capacity, almost 12 GW of which is already operational.

Last year, for the first time in 44 years, the UK became a net electricity exporter as wind power generation surged by 24%. France’s need for imports rose because a significant number of its nuclear power plants (NPPs) were offline for maintenance.

Gus Jaspert, managing director for marine at The Crown Estate, said: “Today marks a significant milestone for the UK on the road to net zero, unlocking green energy potential for more than seven million homes and demonstrating to the world that the UK offshore wind industry is growing at pace to help meet the climate challenge.”