Round 3 Of The UK's Offshore Wind Programme Has Challenges Ahead

Introduction

Progress is lagging behind the Crown Estate's intended timescales for Round 3 of the UK's offshore wind programme. Why is this so and what can be done to put Round 3 projects back on track?

Background to Round 3

The UK is currently the world leader in the generation of offshore wind energy thanks to the first two rounds of site allocations for offshore wind farms which together comprise 8GW of generation capacity. As offshore wind generation is a key component of the UK's energy strategy going forward, the UK government is relying upon plans to extend this through Round 3.

Allocations for Round 3 were launched in 2008 with high hopes of producing an additional 25GW of offshore wind energy. The successful bidders were announced in early 2010 and construction is scheduled to commence in 2014. However, progress has not been as anticipated and industry estimations have queried whether there will be any substantial degree of offshore wind generation by