Since early November, representatives from across the globe have been attending the COP29 climate summit, focusing on delivering the necessary emissions reductions required to ensure temperatures remain within the 1.5C limits set in the Paris Agreement. At the beginning of the summit, the British PM introduced his vision of becoming a global leader in the green energy transition and with over 40% of the European offshore wind farm capacity located in UK waters and sitting only behind China, the UK is in a strong position to achieve this. 

European offshore wind farms provided electricity for around 50% of UK households in 2023, which is anticipated to increase in association with the government's goal of making Britain a clean energy superpower. 

The role of Natural England in supporting the development of offshore wind Natural England is very supportive of the government targets for green energy development. It has announced its Approach to Offshore Wind, which intends to enable progressive marine and coastal nature alongside low-impact offshore wind development, prioritising climate and biodiversity challenges. To achieve this goal, we must locate the most appropriate locations for offshore wind farms and cables in areas that avoid irreparable damage and enable evidence-based mitigation to proceed. Natural England’s role in offshore wind is a good example of how the organisation thinks globally but acts locally. Their sustainable development program prioritises an active approach towards planning, incorporating environmental strategies at an early stage and enabling defined solutions to environmental challenges. 

Natural England is leveraging offshore industry experience to support government plans, such as the Environmental Improvement Plan and the UK Marine Strategy. Collaborating with the government and the Crown Estate, they have created a strategy for how to increase offshore wind capacity, as within the Whole of Seabed Programme and Future of Offshore Wind reports, while also liaising with Defra on specific projects to determine the most effective offshore wind environmental standards. This year Natural England’s Offshore Wind casework team has prioritised environmental support for ten offshore wind projects and assisted developers and regulators in exploring existing sites that have ongoing construction, operation and maintenance plans. Aside from statutory advice, Natural England has delivered research and evidence-based reports intended to fill gaps and strengthen decision-making. In the last year, Natural England has published the following reports: 

NECR501 Edition 1 Assessment of environmental impacts of potential floating offshore wind designs - examining floating wind designs to determine structures and environmental evidence gaps compared to fixed structured wind farms. NECR505 Offshore Demonstration Site Demand and Feasibility Study - a review to identify offshore demonstration sites internationally, promoting best practices and highlighting any potential gaps in the existing provision for UK sites. 

Natural England has also developed offshore wind best practices and environmental standards for subsea cables, delivering the necessary standards for other marine industries.

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