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Crown Estate Seabed Lease

All offshore wind developments in English and Welsh waters require a seabed lease from The Crown Estate.

Guide summary

You must get a seabed lease from The Crown Estate for offshore wind in English and Welsh waters, or from Crown Estate Scotland for Scottish waters. Monitor leasing rounds, prepare a competitive bid, and sign an Agreement for Lease. Convert to a full lease once you get Development Consent Order (DCO). The Capacity Increase Programme lets existing projects add up to 4.7GW. New rules aim to bring 20-30GW to lease by 2030.

  • Monitor The Crown Estate website for leasing round announcements
  • Prepare a technical and financial bid for competitive allocation rounds
  • Sign an Agreement for Lease if you win a bid
  • Coordinate with Development Consent Order (DCO) timeline
  • Convert Agreement for Lease to full lease after DCO is granted
  • Pay annual rent and option fees as set by the lease
  • Check Capacity Increase Programme for expansion (up to 4.7GW)
  • For Scottish waters, apply through Crown Estate Scotland (ScotWind or INTOG)
  • Crown Estate Act 2025 targets 20-30GW of leases by 2030
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Leasing rounds

The Crown Estate releases seabed rights through competitive leasing rounds:

  • Round 4: Fixed-bottom offshore wind in English waters
  • Round 5: Floating offshore wind in Celtic Sea (up to 4.5GW capacity)

Agreement for Lease

Successful bidders receive an Agreement for Lease, which becomes a full lease once key milestones are met (typically DCO consent).

Capacity Increase Programme

The Crown Estate's Capacity Increase Programme allows existing projects to expand, unlocking an additional 4.7GW of capacity.

Crown Estate Act 2025

The Act has expanded Crown Estate powers to accelerate offshore wind development, potentially bringing 20-30GW to lease stage by 2030.

  1. 1

    Monitor leasing round announcements

    Monitor The Crown Estate website for future leasing round announcements

  2. 2

    Prepare competitive bid

    Prepare technical and financial submissions for competitive bidding

  3. 3

    Sign Agreement for Lease

    If successful, sign Agreement for Lease and progress through milestones

  4. 4

    Coordinate with DCO timeline

    Coordinate seabed lease with DCO application timeline

  5. 5

    Convert to full lease

    Once DCO granted, convert Agreement for Lease to full lease

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