The Crown Estate today opened an industry engagement exercise to shape the future of wave and tidal leasing in the UK.
With 37 sites leased to date, the UK already has a global lead in the wave and tidal industry and the exercise aims to help the industry grow further.
The Crown Estate engagement exercise invites developers of wave and tidal projects to share their visions of future schemes, including where and when projects may be developed.
The exercise also seeks suggestions about how The Crown Estate can further improve the way it provides seabed rights, both in the forms of rights provided and the leasing processes itself. This is timely in view of the current wave and tidal leasing processes coming to a close this autumn.
Commenting on the announcement, Rob Hastings , Director of the Energy and Infrastructure Portfolio , said: “Consistent with the long-term view we take across all our assets, it is important for us to understand how we can best help the UK’s portfolio of wave and tidal projects grow in future years.
“At the moment, development of offshore wind is of course a high priority and must continue apace for 2020 targets to be met. But looking ahead, we see excellent opportunities for wave and tidal to operate alongside offshore wind, in ways which maximise offshore renewable energy in the electricity supply mix and make optimum use of the marine estate.”
Maria McCaffery , Chief Executive of RenewableUK , said: “Visibility of the pathway to future projects is crucially important for the growing wave and tidal industry. RenewableUK welcomes The Crown Estate’s approach to seeking to meet industry needs on an ongoing basis, as the industry evolves from a technology focus on prototype generation devices to a project focus on commercial project assets.”
[mappress]
Offshore WIND staff, July 26, 2012; Image: SgurrEnergy