Navitus Bay has reached an agreement with The Crown Estate to hand back the remaining, unused parts of the original wind farm development zone.
This means that the parts of the seabed in the zone that have not been used for the application submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for consent will no longer be under the control of Navitus Bay Development Ltd.
Under the terms of the agreement, Navitus Bay will return 571 km2 to The Crown Estate. This represents 79% of the original zone are awarded to the proposed wind farm.
The Crown Estate originally awarded the development zone to Navitus Bay in 2010, as part of the offshore wind zone agreements for exclusive areas of search to identify projects. Navitus Bay initially submitted plans for a 970MW scheme, and also submitted a 630MW mitigation option during the examination process. Neither of these proposals used the full development zone.
“Navitus Bay has always stated that it would not use the remaining parts of the development area to build a larger wind park if the project gained consent. Today’s move, which will see decisions about this unused area being taken away from Navitus Bay, fulfils this promise,” the company said.
Today’s announcement from Navitus Bay is part of a wider series of agreements between The Crown Estate and offshore wind developers, which firms up the UK portfolio beyond 2020.
Stuart Grant, Project Director of Navitus Bay , said: “Navitus Bay is very pleased to return 79% of the original development area it was awarded back to The Crown Estate. The project is committed to the two schemes submitted to the Planning Inspectorate and is currently awaiting a decision from the Secretary of State on consent. Handing back control of the unused area to The Crown Estate is important to us and we will continue to actively engage in dialogue with local residents about all future decisions affecting the project.”
Huub den Rooijen, Head of Offshore Wind at The Crown Estate , said: “Today’s announcement marks an important step for Navitus Bay as it moves to a focused project agreement and hands back the remaining seabed. The proposed schemes that the project has submitted for consent demonstrate a real commitment to the region and to the planning and consenting of projects that will help form the backbone of UK offshore wind development beyond 2020.”