Hogan Lovell OffshoreBook 2023 230809 OnlinePDF - Flipbook - Page 286
286
United Kingdom
2.2 Scheme in relation to exclusivity to
construct, own and operate a project,
as well as to receive feed-in revenues
(a) The Crown Estate
Exclusivity to construct, own and operate an offshore wind project in England
and Wales is secured through the entry
by the proposed developer into an Agreement for Lease with The Crown Estate
granting the developer the right to be
granted a lease of the relevant seabed
site subject to the discharge of various
milestone conditions.
As noted above, The Crown Estate
recently concluded a major offshore
wind leasing round (known as Round 4),
opening up the opportunity for c.8GW of
new offshore wind energy. Agreements
for the development of six fixed offshore
wind projects were signed in January
2023, with Hogan Lovells acting as the
Crown Estate’s advisor.
The Crown Estate’s Round 4 tender
process included:
• a three-stage tender process, evaluating both bidders’ capability and their
proposed projects, before using option
fees to determine award;
• bidder led site selection within 4 available Bidding Areas (Dogger Bank Bidding
Area; Eastern Regions Bidding Area;
South East Bidding Area; and Northern
Wales and Irish Sea Bidding Area);
• a geographically diverse pipeline Round 4 projects were required to
come forward across at least three
Bidding Areas, with a maximum of 3.5
GW within any one area;
• extended 60 year lease terms - (up
from 50) enough for two full project
lifecycles;
• low cost deployment - Round 4 focuses on water depths out to 60 metres,
which are suitable for fixed foundation
technology, and will come forward
in areas of favourable development
resource, helping to enable cost-competitive deployment.
The Crown Estate is now in the process
of developing a major floating offshore
wind leasing round in the Celtic Sea,
which it intends to launch later this year.
(b) Plan-Level Habitats Regulations
Assessment (HRA)
The EU Habitats Directive provides for
the establishment and protection of
certain habitats known collectively as
European sites. These sites include the
following which comprise the Natura
2000 network:
• Special Areas of Conservation (SACs)
designated under the EU Habitats
Directive; and
• Special Protection Areas (SPAs) sites
classified under the EU Birds Directive.
Under the terms of the Directive, where a
plan or project is likely to have a significant effect on a European site, a compe-
