With 120GW of offshore wind expected by 2050, a share of the seabed ought to be reserved for community benefit.
- Sea Lords of the West advocates that the Crown Estate leases 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 sea bed plots/sub-leases for organisations seeking to develop offshore wind and tidal projects that directly benefit the community.
Allocating even a small proportion to community ownership could play a transformative role in scaling community energy and delivering tangible benefits to coastal communities. It would also help diversify the ownership of offshore wind, currently dominated by foreign investors, creating a more balanced and locally rooted energy system.
Impact – good gigawatts
We believe that our Sea Lords of the West proposal 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.
Key Elements of Sea Lords of the West
Revenue Sharing and Community Investment
For large-scale projects like offshore wind, a portion of seabed lease revenues would be distributed across coastal communities along the Irish Sea and beyond – ensuring they benefit directly from nearby developments.
Developers would also be required to commit to community investment and tangible local benefits as part of their leasing agreements.
Crucially, coastal communities would have the power to decide how funds are used, alongside opportunities to invest in and own a stake in projects.
This moves beyond traditional community benefit funds, creating long-term income, local ownership, and a lasting economic legacy.
A Precedent
Sea Lords of the West was developed by Ciara Shannon, in conversation with John Idris Jones (Chair, Menter Môn Morlais).
It builds on a proven model. In 2014, the Crown Estate established the West Anglesey Demonstration Zone (WADZ) – a 35 km² seabed site with up to 240MW potential. Through Menter Môn, the Morlais project is the first tidal scheme at this scale led by a social enterprise – showing that community-led seabed leasing works.
Sea Lords takes this even further – scaling community leasing into offshore wind.
