The Crown Estate of the UK gives its approval to increase capacity at offshore wind farms

The Crown Estate of King Charles III, which controls the seabed in Britain, has approved the expansion of high-density offshore wind farms. They are looking for a space-efficient and rapid way to increase capacity and support Britain's energy transformation.

This Capacity Enhancement Programme will see seven projects, including RWE Rampion 2 and SSE, Equinor and Dogger Bank D increase their capacity by 4.7 gigawatts.

Britain wants to decarbonise the electricity sector by 2030, and increase renewable energy, especially offshore wind, in order to protect itself from price fluctuations of fossil fuels.

The goal is to deploy up to 50 GW (gigawatts) of clean offshore wind energy by 2030. This represents an increase from the current 15 GW.

The Crown Estate stated that all seven projects are connected to grids and have infrastructure for rapid deployment. They also fall within offshore wind sites already established.

"Our goal is to bring lasting prosperity and share it with the entire nation." Offshore wind allows us to achieve this as a catalyst for economic growth by creating jobs and developing supply chains," said Gus Jaspert.

Jaspert said that delivering the Capacity Increase Programme was an effective way of providing up to four millions homes with clean, secure energy. It also helped to reduce the UK's dependence on fossil fuels which are often imported from abroad.

The UK is the second largest offshore wind market in the world by capacity after China. However, spiraling costs due to high inflation and supply-chain bottlenecks has hit the sector. Reporting by Marwa Rashed. Mark Potter (Editing)

(source: Reuters)