Impacts of Competitive Seabed Allocation for Offshore Wind Energy: A cash flow analysis of implemented allocation scheme designs, results, and impacts

Abstract

Executive Summary Offshore wind is an important part of the accelerating transition to green energy sources in many maritime countries. To develop offshore wind projects, private developers require access to and tenure over the seabed, which is a scarce and valuable resource controlled and managed by governments. In this report we describe the currently implemented seabed allocation schemes for offshore wind around the world and analyse the economic effects of the fees embedded in the seabed lease agreements. We describe the allocation schemes for seabed including pre-qualification, fees, and method of competition for the examples of UK (England, Wales, and Northern Ireland), UK (Scotland), the United States and the Netherlands. Then, we use a discounted cash flow analysis to assess and compare the timeline and magnitude of the fees. We show that the costs embedded in the seabed lease agreements can be extensive and have been trending upward over time.