Six proposed new offshore wind farms have been announced for British waters.
The Round Four projects have the potential to deliver 8GW of new capacity, powering seven million homes while creating employment and driving investment across the 海角视频.
Five 1.5GW projects and a 480MW site have been identified, with two at Dogger Bank, one off the Lincolnshire coast, and three off the North West coast, from the top of Wales to Morecambe Bay.
All would eclipse the current largest operational farm, Hornsea One (1.2GW) and its successor, Hornsea Two (1.4GW) - which is now in construction.
Dan Labbad, chief executive of The Crown Estate, said: 鈥淩ound Four offers a major boost for the 海角视频鈥檚 green economy and subject to environmental assessments, these projects have the potential to create new jobs and deliver green and affordable energy to millions more homes.
鈥淲ith a net zero goal, some of the best offshore wind resources in the world, and clear commitment from Government and industry to continue investing in the low carbon economy, the 海角视频 stands ready to play its part in addressing the global climate crisis.
鈥淭he task now is to work together across the sector, to coordinate the development we need offshore, in a way which is sensitive to the importance of biodiversity in our precious marine environment and brings new employment opportunities and growth to a range of communities across country.鈥
The projects have been selected through a competitive seabed tender process and will now progress to environmental assessment known as a Habitats Regulations Assessment.
Energy Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: 鈥淭he 海角视频 is a world leader in offshore wind energy, with the Prime Minister鈥檚 Ten Point Plan laying out a bold ambition to produce enough offshore wind to power every home in the 海角视频.
鈥淓nergy delivered by the new offshore wind projects in The Crown Estate鈥檚 latest leasing round will help power seven million homes, driving forward our commitments to eliminate the 海角视频鈥檚 contribution to carbon emissions by 2050, creating thousands of new jobs and ensuring Britain builds back greener.鈥
Lesley Griffiths, Welsh Government Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, also welcomed the North Wales inclusion, congratulating successful joint venture bidder EnBW and BP, which has also won the Morecambe Bay option. RWE Renewables is behind the Dogger Bank projects, as it already delivers Sofia wind farm there, while Green Investment Group and Total have secured seabed off the Humber Estuary.
Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios SA and Flotation Energy Plc has the remaining site, the smaller development off the Lancashire coast, between Blackpool and Morecambe Bay.
Through an open market process, successful bidders have committed an initial investment of 拢879 million in option fee deposits.
For trade body Renewable 海角视频, supply hasn鈥檛 met demand, causing concern on pricing.
Deputy chief executive, Melanie Onn, said: 鈥淥ffshore wind will be the backbone of our future electricity system and growing the pipeline of offshore wind projects is essential to ensure we have the capacity we need. These new sites can make a huge contribution to decarbonising our energy system and achieving net zero.
鈥淭he result of this leasing round shows that while demand for new offshore wind projects has never been higher, too few sites were made available to meet this demand. Any auction run on that basis will inevitably lead to high fees like these, and our concern is that this could ultimately mean higher costs for developers and consumers.
鈥淕oing forward we need more clarity from The Crown Estate on the timing, size and speed of future leasing rounds. Sustainable competition and prices are vital for consumers, industry and the supply chain."
Is there enough to meet demand? Join the debate in our comments section below.
