The Crown Estate has granted seabed rights for six proposed offshore wind farm extensions with a total capacity of 2.8GW.

It has awarded Agreements for Lease (AfL) after successfully progressing through the plan level Habitats Regulations Assessment stage (HRA), which assesses the possible impact of the proposed wind farm extensions on relevant nature conservation sites of European importance.

The six offshore wind farms are Sheringham Shoal, Dudgeon, Greater Gabbard (extension known as North Falls), Galloper (extension known as Five Estuaries), Rampion and Gwynt y Môr (extension known as Awel y Môr).

The six project AfLs come in addition to the AfL for the proposed extension to Thanet Offshore Wind Farm that was previously announced.

Developers will now focus on environmental assessments and surveys prior to seeking planning consent through the statutory planning process and securing connections to the grid.

Will Apps, Head of Energy Development at The Crown Estate said: “Reaching this stage marks an important milestone in the UK portfolio, demonstrating strong market appetite and further strengthening the UK offshore wind pipeline.

“Extensions projects offer a valuable way of enabling new, low-cost offshore wind capacity, making efficient use of our world-class seabed resources and building on developers’ existing project knowledge and infrastructure. Each project has the potential to play a vital role in supporting the nation’s clean energy transition and we look forward to following their progress as they move through the planning process.”