Released March 23, 2009 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Crown Estate (London, England) invited Round 3 bids for the licensing of offshore windfarms. The competitive tender process was closed on March 3, 2009, and the Crown Estate has since announced that it received multiple bids for all the nine zones within the bidding process. Bids were submitted by 18 different companies and consortia, which submitted a total of 40 zone bids. The bidders include companies from at least nine countries. Several additional companies have committed to the bids as supply-chain participants and alliance partners.
The number and quality of the bids received are a clear indication of the potential capacity of each zone. The bids also indicate the interest of the bidders in generating an additional 25,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind energy by 2020. The Crown Estate will now carry out a confidential and detailed assessment of the bids. Negotiations with the shortlisted bidders will begin in the second half of 2009, and zonal development agreements will be finalized by the end of 2009. Construction work is expected to begin in 2015.
While the strong response to the tender invitation works in favor of the current plan to add up to 33,000 MW of wind power by 2020, there are several factors that need to be considered such as economic support for the projects, an efficient supply chain system, the clearance processes, and most importantly a sufficiently networked grid system. According to Rob Hastings, the Director of The Marine Estate, The Crown Estate would like to overcome all existing challenges, and discussions are under way with the government and other parties to take care of all the issues related to the economic and supply-chain development.
Energy and Climate Change Minister, Mike O'Brien, said that by 2020, the UK would have to generate about 30% of its energy from renewable sources, with wind energy being the largest contributor. The government is trying to ensure that the planning process is accelerated and access to the onshore grid network is improved.
Worth more than $10.5 billion, The Crown Estate owns three sectors of property in the UK--urban, rural, and marine. The marine estate includes almost the entire UK seabed within the 12-nautical mile territorial limit and more than 55% of the country's foreshore and tidal riverbeds. The Crown Estate owns the rights to all minerals, except hydrocarbons, discovered in this region and has the rights to energy development more than 200 nautical miles from the coast. The Energy Act of 2004 allows The Crown Estate to license renewable energy generation on the continental shelf up to 200 nautical miles in the Renewable Energy Zone.
The urban sector accounts for 78% of the total property value of The Crown Estate and generates 75% of its gross revenue surplus. The urban portfolio includes retail and business parks, residential properties, and industrial sites. Property purchase and sale transactions worth millions of dollars are conducted by The Crown Estate, which generates an annual revenue surplus of $305 million that is paid to the government. The Crown Estate owns one of the largest rural estates in the UK, which includes about 294,000 acres of forests and agricultural land. It also owns the rights to all naturally occurring gold and silver.
Round 1 of the UK's offshore windfarm development was announced in December of 2000. In April of the following year, 18 companies were selected for site development. To date, five windfarms generating a total of 390 MW have been set up. The windfarms are located in Barrow, off the South Cumbrian coast; Burbo Bank off Wirral; Kentish Flats in the Thames Estuary region; North Hoyle off North Wales; and Scroby Sands off Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. Each developer's area in Round 1 was limited to 10 square kilometers of the seabed, and each windfarm was allowed to use a maximum of 30 turbines to produce a minimum of 20 MW of energy. Other facilities are still under construction. The first round was initiated as a demonstration round to enable developers to gain technological, environmental and economic expertise.
Round 2 of the offshore windfarm development was announced in July 2003, and the tender process was closed in October 2003. A total of 41 project proposals with a combined capacity of 27,000 MW was submitted. The selected developers and projects were announced in December 2003. Fifteen projects with a combined capacity of 7,200 MW were finalized, and sites both within and outside the territorial waters were selected. This round of development is a more ambitious one, and the projects are intended to supply electricity to more than four million households. A significant reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions is also one of the targets of this round.
The Crown Estate has offered to be a development partner in Round 3 of the projects. This has increased the interest of developers since The Crown Estate is willing to pay up to 50% of the pre-development costs. The Crown Estate will also finance studies to determine the effect of the windfarms on marine life and shipping. The costs would later be earned back from revenues generated from the windfarms. The success of Round 3 would enable the UK to generate up to 33,000 MW of wind energy by 2020, which would help the country both achieve energy security and reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. The UK's total electricity generation capacity as of 2008 was 380 million megawatt-hours.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a marketing information service specializing in industrial process, energy and financial related markets with products and services ranging from industry news, analytics, forecasting, plant and project databases, as well as multimedia services.
The number and quality of the bids received are a clear indication of the potential capacity of each zone. The bids also indicate the interest of the bidders in generating an additional 25,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind energy by 2020. The Crown Estate will now carry out a confidential and detailed assessment of the bids. Negotiations with the shortlisted bidders will begin in the second half of 2009, and zonal development agreements will be finalized by the end of 2009. Construction work is expected to begin in 2015.
While the strong response to the tender invitation works in favor of the current plan to add up to 33,000 MW of wind power by 2020, there are several factors that need to be considered such as economic support for the projects, an efficient supply chain system, the clearance processes, and most importantly a sufficiently networked grid system. According to Rob Hastings, the Director of The Marine Estate, The Crown Estate would like to overcome all existing challenges, and discussions are under way with the government and other parties to take care of all the issues related to the economic and supply-chain development.
Energy and Climate Change Minister, Mike O'Brien, said that by 2020, the UK would have to generate about 30% of its energy from renewable sources, with wind energy being the largest contributor. The government is trying to ensure that the planning process is accelerated and access to the onshore grid network is improved.
Worth more than $10.5 billion, The Crown Estate owns three sectors of property in the UK--urban, rural, and marine. The marine estate includes almost the entire UK seabed within the 12-nautical mile territorial limit and more than 55% of the country's foreshore and tidal riverbeds. The Crown Estate owns the rights to all minerals, except hydrocarbons, discovered in this region and has the rights to energy development more than 200 nautical miles from the coast. The Energy Act of 2004 allows The Crown Estate to license renewable energy generation on the continental shelf up to 200 nautical miles in the Renewable Energy Zone.
The urban sector accounts for 78% of the total property value of The Crown Estate and generates 75% of its gross revenue surplus. The urban portfolio includes retail and business parks, residential properties, and industrial sites. Property purchase and sale transactions worth millions of dollars are conducted by The Crown Estate, which generates an annual revenue surplus of $305 million that is paid to the government. The Crown Estate owns one of the largest rural estates in the UK, which includes about 294,000 acres of forests and agricultural land. It also owns the rights to all naturally occurring gold and silver.
Round 1 of the UK's offshore windfarm development was announced in December of 2000. In April of the following year, 18 companies were selected for site development. To date, five windfarms generating a total of 390 MW have been set up. The windfarms are located in Barrow, off the South Cumbrian coast; Burbo Bank off Wirral; Kentish Flats in the Thames Estuary region; North Hoyle off North Wales; and Scroby Sands off Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. Each developer's area in Round 1 was limited to 10 square kilometers of the seabed, and each windfarm was allowed to use a maximum of 30 turbines to produce a minimum of 20 MW of energy. Other facilities are still under construction. The first round was initiated as a demonstration round to enable developers to gain technological, environmental and economic expertise.
Round 2 of the offshore windfarm development was announced in July 2003, and the tender process was closed in October 2003. A total of 41 project proposals with a combined capacity of 27,000 MW was submitted. The selected developers and projects were announced in December 2003. Fifteen projects with a combined capacity of 7,200 MW were finalized, and sites both within and outside the territorial waters were selected. This round of development is a more ambitious one, and the projects are intended to supply electricity to more than four million households. A significant reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions is also one of the targets of this round.
The Crown Estate has offered to be a development partner in Round 3 of the projects. This has increased the interest of developers since The Crown Estate is willing to pay up to 50% of the pre-development costs. The Crown Estate will also finance studies to determine the effect of the windfarms on marine life and shipping. The costs would later be earned back from revenues generated from the windfarms. The success of Round 3 would enable the UK to generate up to 33,000 MW of wind energy by 2020, which would help the country both achieve energy security and reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. The UK's total electricity generation capacity as of 2008 was 380 million megawatt-hours.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a marketing information service specializing in industrial process, energy and financial related markets with products and services ranging from industry news, analytics, forecasting, plant and project databases, as well as multimedia services.
