The Crown Estate Talks Round 4 Bidder Criteria

The Crown Estate has detailed the criteria it would assess at the Pre-Qualification (PQQ) and Invitation to Tender (ITT) stages of the proposed Round 4 offshore wind leasing tender in the UK.

In the PQQ phase, the Crown Estate plans to assess the potential bidders’ financial strength, including specific financial thresholds, and technical competence and expertise requirements, such as project management, grid connection and consenting.

The project bids will be assessed in the ITT stage, where compliance with tender requirements, capacity limits and project-specific financial and technical assessment would be considered. The final outcome would then be determined by the option fee the bidder proposed for the exclusive rights to the site.

The Crown Estate also shared further detail on additional tender parameters, such as bidding entities and consortia arrangements, spatial aspects and an outline of the proposed agreement for lease.

“Our ambition is to design a fair, balanced and competitive tender process, which ensures that capable, experienced bidders and the strongest possible projects come forward for new leasing,” said Jonny Boston, Business Development Manager at The Crown Estate.

“As we work to test and finalise the design of Round 4, tailored to an increasingly mature sector, we continue to welcome engagement with stakeholders and the market, helping us to balance the range of interests on the seabed.” 

In mid-November, The Crown Estate announced the updates for the Round 4 tender, including proposed refinement of available seabed regions within which developers would be able to identify and propose sites, and a likely increase in capacity from 6GW to 7GW.

As the plans progress, the UK body plans to continue engaging with stakeholders and the market on the detailed plans, which will enable the finalization of the regions to be offered and the tender design prior to confirming the launch.

The new tender round could be launched in early 2019, maintaining a pipeline of projects through to the late 2020s and beyond.