Abstract
Developing offshore wind farms quickly and responsibly is critical
Tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030 as countries agreed at COP28 will require highly efficient deployment of offshore wind. Looking to 2040 and beyond, offshore wind will be critical to reaching Net Zero as it has significant electricity generation benefits thanks to high and consistent wind speeds offshore, and the potential to deploy at scale.
However, finding suitable areas to develop large-scale offshore wind projects is not straightforward. Geological, environmental and socioeconomic suitability must all be considered. Good management at early stages of offshore wind development can avoid stalled or cancelled projects and can help ensure offshore wind deployment doesn’t have unintended consequences for marine life and marine users.
Marine spatial planning is often regarded as a silver bullet for managing offshore wind and other marine sectors – the reality is more complicated
Marine spatial planning (MSP) is a process used to manage various human activities that take place at sea, including fishing, shipping and marine conservation. It involves analysing and allocating marine areas to these different activities. In the context of offshore wind, MSP involves selecting areas or zones for potential offshore wind development with consideration for other marine users and the marine environment.
In theory, MSP can help governments and leasing authorities optimise the number, scale and location of offshore wind projects, ease consenting by minimising conflict with other stakeholders, and reduce the likelihood of challenges during development.
In practice however, MSP is not always the idealised, infallible process described in academic literature. This is partly due to MSP’s inherent limitations and ineffective application. In these instances, MSP can result in a lengthy, data-intensive or procedure-heavy process that is inadequately linked to the wider development process and limits progress.
Three principles are key to optimising marine spatial planning for efficient offshore wind development
The Carbon Trust has synthesised and collated different approaches to MSP in eight key markets. How governments choose to approach MSP will depend on existing regulatory frameworks, internal capacity and other contextual factors. We have identified three main principles that all governments should consider, to ensure that MSP leads to efficient offshore wind development:
1. Alignment with other aspects of the regulatory framework
2. A standardised process, applied at regular intervals
3. Clarity and transparency about the planning process and its outcomes
These principles are drawn from our analysis of MSP approaches in The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, the UK, Japan, China and the US alongside our experience working directly with governments to deliver MSPs. They will be critical for MSP to facilitate responsible offshore wind development along the timescales needed to meet government targets and Net Zero ambitions.