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Offshore Wind

These pages contain information about offshore wind energy in the UK and around the world. The second round of offshore wind development around the UK 'Round 2' is now fully underway, and 5 projects from 'Round 1' are already generating. Click on the links on the right to see where the projects are and who is developing them.

BWEA Offshore Conference 2009
Over 500 people will attend BWEA's eighth annual offshore wind event, on 24-25 June 2009 at the QEII Centre in Westminster, the leading event dedicated to the development of offshore wind energy in the UK. Delegates will include senior government officials, investors, financiers, manufacturers, developers and all others with an interest in the latest policy and technical developments in UK offshore wind.

21 November 2008 Managing our marine resources – licensing under the Marine Bill
This Defra publications outlines how licensing will be performed under a Marine Bill Framework. It includes maps showing which consenting authorities have responsibility in different regions of the UK Renewable Energy Zone. Click here to view in PDF format.

BWEA publishes "Actions for 33 GW" report.
In July 2008 BWEA presented the "Actions for 33 GW" report to BERR. The report aims to help Government to ensure that every barrier to maximising delivery is identified and that a clear path is set out for overcoming these barriers. This report has since been published and was launched at the BWEA 30 conference in October 2008. Click here to access the report.

Following BWEA's offshore conference on June 4th, BWEA and the membership identified an urgent need to debate the Crown Estate's R3 announcement. BWEA quickly organised and held a seminar at the Grosvenor Hotel in London on 23rd June. The event was well attended with 36 member companies filling the available space to capacity. The purpose of the event was threefold:

To identify any significant concerns arising from the Crown Estate's announcement of Round 3 of offshore wind development
To suggest practical ways in which the current proposals might be improved.
The seminar outputs will be presented to the Crown Estate with a view to informing and influencing the Round 3 programme.

The outputs were submitted to The Crown Estate for consideration before their recent Round 3 seminars. These outputs are now available on the BWEA member's website.The seminar's introduction presentation can be viewed here (PDF format).

Offshore Wind Information

Offshore Wind - Moving Up A Gear An updated assessment of UK offshore wind deliverability to 2015 and beyond
Guide to how an offshore wind farm works
Projects around the world
BWEA Best Practice Guidelines for Consultation for Offshore Wind Development
Fishing Liaison with Offshore Wind and Wet Renewables Group (FLOWW) Recommendations for Fisheries Liaison
Framework for dialogue between the fishing and wind farm industries
Study of Socio-Economic Impacts of R2 Offshore Windfarms on Fishing Activities - Q&A
Click here to find out about the Marine Bill and Marine Spatial Planning

Offshore progress all at sea? Read 'Building an Industry Takes Time' by BWEA's Head of Offshore Dr Gordon Edge, published in BWEA's newsletter Real Power

Significant steps towards UK's offshore renewables powerhouse - BWEA press release on Round 2 progress in the Thames Estuary strategic area.