UK's Crown Estate awards rights for 2.8 GW of offshore wind projects

The Crown Estate has awarded Agreements for Lease (AfL) to 6 proposed offshore wind project extensions in the waters around England and Wales (United Kingdom), which together have the potential to deliver 2.8 GW of new capacity. The consenting processes are now expected to take 3 to 5 years with participation in auctions for a Contract for Difference (CfD) and construction starting thereafter. The wind park extensions could become fully operational towards the end of the decade.

RWE Renewables has signed AfLs with The Crown Estate to extend the existing Gwynt y Môr, Galloper, Greater Gabbard and Rampion offshore wind parks with a combined potential installed capacity of around 1.8 GW. With these AFLs, RWE could add up to 576 MW (RWE share 60% in the "Awel y Môr" extension project) at the 592 MW Gwynt y Môr offshore wind park off the coast of North Wales in the Irish Sea, raising its capacity to 1,168 MW. The Galloper extension - called Five Estuaries - has a potential capacity of up to 353 MW (RWE share 25%), doubling the park's capacity to 706 MW, and the extension of the 668 MW Greater Gabbard wind park, named North Falls, has an agreement for up to 504 MW (RWE share 50%), raising Greater Gabbard's capacity to 1,172 MW. Both projects are located in the southern North Sea. The Rampion 2 development project with a potential capacity of up to 1,200 MW (RWE share 50.01%) is located off the coast of Sussex in the English Channel, and would add to the existing 400 MW project.

In addition, Equinor has signed AfLs with The Crown Estate to double the capacity of the 402 MW Dudgeon park and of its 317 MW Sheringham Shoal wind park, adding up to 719 MW of new offshore wind capacity.