The Crown Estate to support small scale tidal and wave

The Crown Estate has announced that it is considering a new leasing programme that would boost small scale wave and tidal projects.

As an active manager of the UK seabed, the Crown Estate has announced plans to simplify the process for awarding access rights for tidal and wave developers.

Under the leasing programme that is being considered, new access rights to the seabed would be offered for wave and tidal test and small scale demonstration projects likely to be of less than 3 MW.

The approach will complement the existing Demonstration Zone leases, which provide specific sites for the test and demonstration of wave and tidal projects, and enable smaller projects with flexibility on location to select sites that meet their specific technical requirements, have secure grid access and potential integration with community projects, according to Regen SW.

“We will provide an update on our proposals later this year but our aim will be to provide a simplified process for award of access rights,” the Crown Estate stated in their notice.

The Crown Estate is an independent commercial business, created by Act of Parliament, that manages an extensive property portfolio, and pays all profit to UK government for the benefit of the public finances.

Regen SW is a non-profit company working to enable businesses, local authorities and other organisations to deliver renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, and to build a prosperous low-carbon economy in the south west of England.

Image: EMEC/Illustration