Weekly Intelligence Brief
The Crown Estate gives affirmation
11 November 2009
The Crown Estate has confirmed that the timetable for the installation of wave and tidal devices in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Islands area by 2020 remains on schedule.
The London-based firm , which owns the seabed around the UK, will formally sign legal agreements by the end of March next year.
“This date will ensure that leases for wave and tidal projects are appropriate, that as many bidders as possible can obtain lease options, and that we comply with obligations under European law,” stated the firm.
Earlier this year, the Crown Estate announced that it had received 42 bids for the wave and tidal programme in the firth between the far north mainland and Orkney. But at this stage more projects than originally planned are being taken forward to the negotiation phase.
Bidders who have reached ‘provisional preferred bidder’ status are now able to speak to third parties in order to enable them to progress their projects and scoping activities related to those projects. This will ensure that the overall programme to enable the installation of at least 700 MW of wave and tidal capacity by 2020 continues to remain on target.
Shortly, the successful bidders will start their detailed work programme to implement their plans and further plans would be shared as the commercial negotiations get concluded.
The Crown Estate has been criticised as it emerged that there would be a further delay in knowing which developers are to be awarded seabed leases. For instance, Caithness Chamber of Commerce has expressed concerns despite assurances. Also, Thurso and Wick Trade Union Council, according to a report filed by bbc.co.uk, indicated that the process was taking too long. It added that the Council is eager to see new sources of work created to compensate for those that will be shed during the decommissioning of the defunct Dounreay nuclear power complex near Thurso.
Read more:
The Crown Estate: http://social.tidaltoday.com/search/node/The+Crown+Estate
Pentland Firth: http://social.tidaltoday.com/search/node/Pentland+Firth
