UK secures seabed land deal to boost windfarms

• 3 months ago (2024-07-26)
• David Flin

Europe 1088 Offshore wind 121

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GB Energy , the publicly-owned energy company created by the new UK government, will be able to use British seabed owned by the Crown Estate to help build windfarms.

It is the first big announcement by GB Energy. The firm's aim is to increase renewable energy projects, boosted by £8.3bn in state funding, paid for by a windfall tax on oil and gas giants. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband claimed the initiative would "lead to lower bills" for households.

The deal will result in the Crown Estate – which which manages a huge portfolio of property and land and helps fund the UK Royal Family – leasing land on which windfarms can be developed and built. The Crown Estate owns much of the seabed which stretches up to 12 nautical miles from the mainland.

The agreement is only for projects around England and Wales, but Labour is also in discussions with the Scottish government and Crown Estate Scotland on support for local projects.

The government believes it can cut the time it takes to get windfarms producing power by half. It typically takes between 10 and 15 years to build offshore windfarms. The government is providing GB Energy with £8.3bn of funding but hopes to attract £60bn of private investment. The aim is to get windfarm projects that could generate between 20GW and 30GW of offshore power to lease stage by 2030.