Hogan Lovells advises The Crown Estate on major offshore wind leasing round
London, 19 September 2019 – Global law firm Hogan Lovells has advised The Crown Estate on its major offshore wind leasing round, the UK's first in a decade and a project which opens up the opportunity for at least 7GW of new clean energy.
The Crown Estate has today launched Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4, opening up the potential of new seabed rights for offshore wind development in the waters around England and Wales – enough to meet the electricity needs of over six million homes. It plans to make four broad areas of seabed available to the market, within which potential developers will have the opportunity to bid for project sites.
The Hogan Lovells team advising is led by London-based partners Alex Harrison and Nicholas Roberts. The firm acts for The Crown Estate on all off-shore energy generation matters surrounding England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Crown Estate’s Round 4 tender process will commence in October 2019 and run until autumn 2020, with new seabed rights awarded as early as 2021.
Together with the 2.8GW of extensions projects, which passed the Habitats Regulations Assessment phase in August of this year, the UK is on track to deliver over 30GW by 2030. That’s a fourfold increase in the portfolio compared with today, supporting the UK’s continued position as a world leader in offshore wind.
Alex Harrison, energy partner at Hogan Lovells, said: "Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4 represents a major new opportunity for offshore wind developers and investors at a time of new record low CfD prices for the technology. It is further evidence of the UK's leading role in offshore wind and a critical step on the UK's decarbonisation pathway."
Nicholas Roberts, real estate partner at Hogan Lovells, added: "We are delighted to represent our longstanding client The Crown Estate on this ambitious transition which will serve to attract international investment while bringing us closer to a net zero economy."