The UK aims to achieve 120 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2050.
Allocating even a small percentage of the seabed for community ownership could be a significant step in scaling up community energy and positively impacting coastal communities.
It could also help diversify the ownership structure of offshore wind, which is currently dominated by foreign investors.
Key Elements of sea lords of the west
- Crown Estate Collaboration
- Sea Lords of the West advocates for the Crown Estate to lease a percentage of the UK’s seabed to the community, and they manage this in partnership with community groups and local authorities.
- These entities would act as ‘sea lords’ managing plots/sub-leases for organisations seeking to develop offshore wind and tidal projects that directly benefit the community.
- Such an initiative could be equally applicable to a percentage of the Crown Estate’s land for larger scale community energy projects,
- Revenue Sharing Model
- For large projects like offshore wind, a portion of the rental income from the seabed would be distributed evenly among coastal communities along the Irish Sea et al.
- This approach ensures local coastal communities benefit directly from offshore wind projects, creating a sustainable income stream for community initiatives.
- Community Investment and Ownership
- Offshore wind developers would be required to guarantee community investment and benefits as part of their leasing agreements.
- Coastal communities would have the opportunity to decide how funds could be spent, as well as invest in and own a stake in the projects, Such a model, creates a lasting economic legacy for communities that moves beyond community benefit funds to community investments.
- Alignment with National Policy:
- The proposal aligns with national targets for renewable energy and net-zero goals, while emphasising inclusive, community-led solutions.
- It could serve as a key pillar of the UK’s Local Power Plan, showcasing how public-private-community partnerships can drive the energy transition.
- It could also align with the Crown Estate’s new investment powers.
A PRECEDENT
A precedent for this already exists. In 2014, the Crown Estate designated the West Anglesey Demonstration Zone (WADZ) in Wales to promote the tidal energy industry. The WADZ is a 35 km2 area of seabed off the coast of Holy Island, Anglesey and with the potential to generate up to 240MW of electricity, Morlais is the first tidal energy project on this scale to be led by a social enterprise through its partnership with Menter Môn.
The success of this tidal leasing model underlines the potential of Sea Lords of the West to scale up community energy.
Impact – good gigawatts
We believe that the Sea Lords of the West has the potential to serve as a transformative model for large scale community energy. It is a scalable approach that could create good community gigawatts that would redefine community involvement in renewable energy, as well as positively impact coastal communities along the Irish Sea and beyond.
This concept was developed by Ciara Shannon in discussion with John Idris Jones, Menter Môn Morlais.
HAVE YOUR SAY – In 2025, we will be developing this idea further. We’d love to hear what you think.
Thank you very much for your interest.