The United Kingdom Crown Estate has completed its initial assessment of 8 proposed offshore wind park extension projects totalling 3,400 MW that have satisfied application criteria. The project extensions are namely: Sheringham Shoal-3 (317 MW), Dudgeon-2 (402 MW), Race Bank-2 (573 MW), Greater Gabbard-4 (504 MW), Galloper-2 (353 MW), Rampion-2 (400 MW), Gwynt y Môr-2 (576 MW) and Thanet-2 (300 MW). All of them are located in the waters around England and Wales.
During the next six to nine months, they will be subject to a plan level Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA), which will determine whether they could have any possible impact on relevant nature conservation sites of European importance. Based on its outcome, the projects could be granted agreements for lease in summer 2019, after which successful project developers would start specific environmental assessments and seek consent for their projects through the regulatory planning process.