Crown Estate Scotland commits £250k to expand Floating Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence programme

Crown Estate Scotland is the latest key stakeholder to join the industry-leading Floating Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence programme led by the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult.

Crown Estate Scotland has contributed £250,000 to support the Environmental Interactions Strategic Programme (EISP) – one of four collaborative, multi-year programmes that deliver rigorous research and thought leadership for the sector. The EISP is designed to address identified knowledge gaps involving key environmental considerations of the UK’s floating offshore wind (FOW) sector, of both an ecological and coexistence nature.

A key focus of this programme is to develop and expand the evidence-based body of knowledge informing the delivery of an efficient, timely and transparent environmental impact assessment process for floating offshore wind.

Successfully addressing areas of uncertainty and supporting the development of solutions can help to reduce costs and derisk the future floating wind project development process. Floating offshore wind development is growing rapidly globally and differs from fixed wind installations in that floating wind farms can encounter distinct environmental interaction issues involving high priority areas such as wet storage of assembled structures, mooring and anchoring systems, dynamic cables and coexistence with other sea users.

Andrew Stormonth-Darling, ORE Catapult’s Principal Portfolio Manager – Floating Offshore Wind, said:

“The UK is already a world leader in the development of floating wind, but as we look to rapidly ramp up the commercial scale deployment of this technology we need to expand our understanding of how to identify, assess, and manage potential environmental interactions.

“As the organisation which manages Scotland’s seabed, Crown Estate Scotland has a vital role to play in enabling and supporting the sustainable development of floating wind.”

Andy Riley, Head of Offshore Wind for Crown Estate Scotland, said:

“Adding more knowledge and expertise to support strategic collation of information to enable sustainable development of floating offshore wind is an ambition shared across the renewable energy sector, and we are pleased to play our part in this important programme of work. We believe the Environmental Interactions Strategic Programme will help tackle gaps in understanding, so that floating offshore wind projects can be developed and deployed more effectively .”

Members of the Environmental Interactions Strategic Programme (EISP) Steering Group now include Crown Estate Scotland, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ), Marine Scotland, Natural Resources Wales, and The Crown Estate.

Floating Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence (FOW CoE) related reports:

Floating Offshore Wind – Environmental Interactions Roadmap

Development and Consenting Process – Risks and Opportunities

FOW Co-location & Co-existence Risk & Opportunities | Report | FOWCoE

FOW Cost Reduction Pathways | Public Report | FOWCoE

About Crown Estate Scotland

Crown Estate Scotland is a public corporation that manages land and property on behalf of Scottish Ministers. We invest in property, natural resources, and people to generate lasting value for Scotland. This includes ensuring families, businesses and communities can live, work and thrive on the assets.

All revenue profit is paid to Scottish Government for public spending. Between 2017 and 2021, coastal local authorities benefitted from more than £50m in net revenue allocations.

Crown Estate Scotland manages:

• 37,000 hectares of rural land with agricultural tenancies, residential and commercial properties and forestry on four rural estates (Glenlivet, Fochabers, Applegirth and Whitehill)
• Rights to fish wild salmon and sea trout in river and coastal areas
• Rights to naturally-occurring gold and silver across most of Scotland
• Just under half the foreshore around Scotland including 5,800 moorings and some ports and harbours
• Leasing of virtually all seabed out to 12 nautical miles covering some 750 fish farming sites and agreements with cables & pipeline operators
• The rights to offshore renewable energy and gas and carbon dioxide storage out to 200 nautical miles
• Retail and office units at 39-41 George Street Edinburgh