Abstract
In November 2020, the government announced its ten point plan for a green industrial revolution;
intended to accelerate the path to net zero by 2050, and enable our recovery from COVID-19 to build
back better and greener. Critical to this was the government's commitment to producing 40GW of
offshore wind by 2030. The scale of the target – enough to power every home in the country – is
hugely ambitious.
Offshore wind is one of the UK's most successful growth industries. We have become a world leader
in green energy, with an increase from 1GW of installed capacity in 2010 to 10GW in 2019, the
largest installed capacity of offshore wind in the world. And all whilst continually innovating to drive
down the cost of electricity generation and ensure that energy bills remain affordable for all.
In December 2020, the government released its Energy White Paper, 'Powering our net zero future'.
The transition to low carbon transport and heat to meet net zero means electricity demand could
double by 2050. This explains why clean electricity is the bedrock to decarbonisation, and a key
enabler to grow the economy and level up the country.
To deliver on the commitment of 40GW by 2030, a sustainable approach to the development of
offshore wind is needed. The Crown Estate's Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme -
together with its programme partners, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
(BEIS) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) - is facilitating the
sustainable and coordinated expansion of offshore wind whilst supporting clean, healthy, productive
and biologically diverse seas by bringing together key stakeholders across England, Wales, Scotland
and Northern Ireland to gather and share evidence.
This project seeks to identify potential solutions to legally securing the as-built parameters of offshore
windfarms to facilitate better assessment of the cumulative impacts of offshore wind. To realise the
potential momentum generated by this report, it is vital that organisations with policy or regulatory
authority take account of the outcomes by considering and, if appropriate, implementing the series of
tangible recommendations contained herein.