Function
Development and project management covers the activities up to the point of financial close or placing firm orders to proceed with wind farm construction. This includes activities required to secure planning consents such as the environmental impact assessment, and activities required to define the design and engineering aspects.
What it costs*
About £155 million for a 1 GW wind farm. This includes development and consenting services, environmental surveys, resource and metocean assessment, geological and geotechnical surveys, engineering and consultancy. It also includes development expenditure incurred by lost projects (not itemised in sections below).
A substantial portion of the cost is attributed to project management, which accounts for £48.4 million, while development and other consenting services excluding environmental impact assessments represents an additional £61.6 million.
Who supplies them
The development and consenting stage is managed by the wind farm developer. The main UK developers are: EDF Renewables, EDP Renewables, E.ON, Equinor, RWE, Ørsted, Red Rock Power, ScottishPower Renewables, SSE, Vattenfall and Flotation Energy.
Key facts
Sea bed leasing for existing offshore wind farms has been managed by The Crown Estate or Crown Estate Scotland through several leasing rounds that began in 2000.
Crown Estate Scotland was formed to manage the sea bed in Scottish Waters on behalf of Scottish Ministers. The Crown Estate retains responsibility for the sea bed in England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Before the consenting process can begin, the developer must secure a sea bed lease from The Crown Estate or Crown Estate Scotland. These are granted through periodic leasing rounds.
Offshore wind projects of more than 100 MW installed capacity in England and Wales are defined as nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIP) and are examined by the Planning Inspectorate.
The Secretary of State for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) grants or refuses consent based on a recommendation made by the Planning Inspectorate.
In England, a Development Consent Order is granted under the Planning Act 2008 (as amended) which incorporates a number of consents, including a marine licence and onshore consents. In Wales the marine licence is determined by Natural Resources Wales.
In Scotland, the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate examines applications for the offshore works and Scottish Ministers grant or refuse consent under the Marine (Scotland) Act of 2010 (up to 12 nm from shore) and the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 for projects 12-200 nm from shore. A streamlined process incorporates consent under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 in parallel.
In Northern Ireland, the Marine Strategy and Licensing team within the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) manages the consent application and decision making process for offshore wind projects.
Other important aspects of the development process include securing land permissions for onshore substations and cable routes and engaging with the supply chain.
Onshore consent, including the transmission cable landfall, is awarded by the relevant local planning authority (LPA), except where a project is handled under an NSIP in England and Wales, in which case the onshore consents are considered within the NSIP process.
Developers typically build internal teams of about up to 50 staff during the development phase, which contract specialist packages of work to environmental and engineering consultancies and data acquisition and analysis companies.
The development process from first consideration of a site to FID typically takes between four and seven years in the UK. The offshore wind industry, and in particular some of the organisations which regulate it in Europe, are looking at how it can be accelerated.