The Crown Estate has recently announced a new leasing programme for offshore wind test and demonstration projects, including a leasing round for floating offshore wind technology.
The Crown Estate is offering organisations the opportunity to use their existing development rights and/or obtain new development rights in areas of seabed within United Kingdom territorial waters for the purpose of developing offshore wind test and demonstration projects.
Expressions of Interest and registration for pre-qualification will be invited in two separate leasing processes as follows:
1. A leasing round for new floating wind demonstration sites. Responses should propose sites that demonstrate up to and including 100MW installed capacity and no more than 15 turbines on floating foundations that have not already been deployed commercially. Lease terms of up to 25 years including installation and decommissioning are offered;
2. A call for expressions of interest from 18 July 2013 to 11 September 2013 followed by a period of negotiation for:
a. New off-grid sites – Sites at which no grid connection or turbine is installed that are suitable for testing and demonstrating activities such as foundation testing, cable laying and installation, operations and maintenance testing and training. Lease term of up to 5 years. These terms include the periods required for installation and decommissioning;
b. Project variations – variations to existing projects that incorporate test and demonstration sites within the existing surveyed area. Total installed capacity for the site should not exceed the existing consented capacity or 100MW, whichever is the greater. Lease terms to be negotiated as amendments to existing agreements. Project variations may include off-grid and floating wind projects.
It should be noted that this application process will be controlled using The Crown Estate’s eTendering Portal .
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Offshore WIND Staff, June 21, 2013