Welcome to Round 3

But it would be wrong to assume that the occasional met mast and survey vessel make up the only tangible activity associated with what will potentially dwarf the previous rounds, Round 3.

The status of the 37, Round 1 and 2 projects (original and extensions) currently stands at eleven pre-consented, 3 consented, 8 under construction and fifteen fully operational, with the total capacity at around 8GW. In January 2009, the UK published its Offshore Energy Environmental Assessment, identifying up to 33GW of offshore wind capacity in UK waters, and it is now two years since The Crown Estate announced the successful development partners for the nine zones that will make up Round 3. As these pages will no doubt report on their progress into the future, now is perhaps a good time to look at where they are located, who is involved, what they have planned and how far down the road each project is.

Various sized turbines currently make up the existing and future planned composition of the UK offshore wind scene, but basic maths say that the government’s 33GW ambition translates to over 9,000 3.6MW turbines, 6,600 5MW turbines or 4,700 7MW turbines. As the turbine industry develops, the final make up will no doubt lay somewhere between these numbers, but the enormous potential demand on the whole supply chain, (not forgetting satisfying the remaining European and global demand), along with the challenge of securing finance for such a major infrastructure programme, means that the development of Round 3 will be phased over a number of years, many of the zones sub-divided into smaller developments areas, each containing a number of individual windfarms.

When analysing the developers now licensed to explore this latest energy frontier, the scale of the larger zones has resulted in joint venture enterprises, including a number of developers already involved in existing Round 1 and 2 projects. Another relevant consideration is that The Crown Estate will be co-investing with the contracted partners in the development phases, up to the point of achieving consents for windfarms.

Scottish Waters

Zone 1, Moray Firth, covers an area of 522km², located on the Smith Bank around 22km from the Caithness and Sutherland coast in water depths between 30m and 60m. Zone 1 developer, Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd (MOR), is a joint venture between EDP Renewables and Repsol Nuevas Energias SA, and MOR have divided Zone 1 into two development areas; eastern and western. The former is to be developed first, comprising three windfarms to be known as Edward MacColl, Thomas Telford and Robert Stevenson. Anticipated capacity from the eastern development area is 1.1GW generated by around 200 turbines in the range 5MW to 8MW and accounting for 296km² of the total area. The shore grid connection is expected to be made at Peterhead power station. Consultation with stakeholders has been ongoing since 2010 and an application for consent is due to be presented this year, with construction expected to begin in 2014 and first energy generation in 2016.

Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) and Fluor (UK) Ltd have formed a joint venture partnership under the name Seagreen Wind Energy Ltd to develop Zone 2, Firth of Forth. Covering an area of 2,880km², the zone is around 25km of the coast of Fife with 3.5GW of potential installed capacity. Firth of Forth is to be developed in stages involving three phases. Phase 1 will comprise two windfarms, Seagreen Alpha and Bravo with 545MW and 530MW capacity respectively, comprising between 200 and 300 turbines depending on turbine size, covering an area of 597km². Seagreen Charlie, Delta and Echo will make up Phase 2, the largest of the three with a total capacity of 1,820MW. Phase 3, Seagreen Foxtrot and Golf complete the proposed Firth of Forth development with capacities of 565MW and 225MW respectively. The total area of Phases 2 and 3 is 1,680km².

HVDC cable technology for the export cabling is expected to feature for a number of the Round 3 projects including Firth of Forth, with connection to the shore grid network at Tealing, Angus. A Zone Appraisal and Planning exercise is currently underway for all three phases, with consent application for Phase 1 expected this year, and construction due to commence in 2015.

North Sea & East Coast

The largest Round 3 zone is Zone 3, Dogger Bank, covering a total of 8,660km² with between 9GW and 13GW of potential capacity. Four companies have combined to form the Forewind Consortium to develop Dogger Bank, comprising SSE Renewables, RWE npower renewables (part of RWE Innogy), Statoil and Statkraft. The scale of Zone 3 has resulted in considerable subdivision, allowing a phased development. The zone is divided into four tranches; A, B, C and D, the first three each comprising at least three projects sites; 1, 2 and 3. Tranche D is to be identified at a later stage. Two windfarms have now been announced for project site 1 of Tranche A. Creyke Beck A and B will produce up to 1.4GW of energy. A planning application is due to be presented in 2012.

The SMartwind consortium, a 50/50 joint venture between Mainstream Renewable Power and Siemens Project Ventures GmbH, has been selected to develop Zone 4 Hornsea. Covering an area of 4,735km² and between 31km and 190km off the Yorkshire coast, Hornsea has a total project capacity of 4GW. The zone has been divided into subzones, each containing two blocks with individual capacities of up to 600MW. Heron Wind and Njord are the names now given to wind farms (each taking up two blocks), part of Project One within subzone 1. A total of 1.2GW is anticipated from the two, with HVDC connection at Killingholme, Both project are due for consent application in 2012.

Zone 5 East Anglia, is to be developed by East Anglia Offshore Wind Ltd, a joint venture between ScottishPower Renewables and Vattenfall Wind Power. The zone is 14km off the coasts of Norfolk and Suffolk at its nearest point, covering an area of approximately 6,000km² with a potential capacity of up to 7.2GW. The first 1.2GW is due to be generated by East Anglia ONE windfarm, covering an area of 300km² with between 333 and 420 turbines depending on turbine size. Application for consent for East Anglia ONE is due in 2012, with construction due to commence in 2015 and completion expected in 2018.

South & West Coasts

EON Climate and Renewables UK are the sole developers for Zone 6 Hastings, 13km off the Sussex coast, and at 271km², the smallest Round 3 zone. A single windfarm, known as Rampion is planned for 167km² of the total area, supplying up to 700MW capacity from between 95 and 185 turbines depending on turbine size, in water depths between 19m and 50m. Proximity to the coast and small area relative to other Round 3 zones, has allowed good progress to be made at Rampion with the planning consent application expected to be submitted early this year and construction and delivery planned for the period 2014 to 2016.

Rotterdam based energy provider Eneco New Energy are the sole developers for Zone 7, to the west of the Isle of Wight and in water depths between 20m and 50m. Enerco plan to develop an area in the northern part of the zone covering 196km² of the 723km² total zonal area to be known as Navitus Bay Wind Park, delivering between 900MW and 1,200MW of energy and shore grid connection at Mannington in Dorset. The site is 13km from Durlston Point at its closest point. The statutory consultation period is now under way, a process expected to last until the end of 2013 with construction work beginning in 2016.

In the outer Bristol Channel, RWE npower Renewables hold the development rights for Zone 8. The zone covers an area of approximately 492km² and it is proposed that an area within the zone, to be known as Atlantic Array, will be developed with the capacity to generate up to 1,500MW. The location is around 14km from the north Devon coast and 16km from the south Wales coast. Following publication of a Preliminary Environmental Information document, further public consultation on a Draft Environmental Statement is to take place this year and if successful in gaining consent, first energy generation could be as early as 2016.

The final zone in this review is Irish Sea, Zone 9, to be developed by Centrica Energy and supported by Renewable Energy Systems. The zone covers an area of approximately 2,200km² with a potential capacity of 4GW and one of the larger zones comprising Round 3. It is expected therefore that a number of windfarms will be sited within the zone dependent on the usual considerations including water depth, connection to the shore grid, existing marine activities and environmental constraints. Identification of sites for development within the zone is to start this year prior to making the standard application for permission to the government.

By Peter Barker