Wind power: crown estate opens new bids for seabed rights

Offshore leasing auction starts for 7GW capacity project that could supply 6m UK homes

The crown estate has opened the first leasing round for offshore windfarms in a decade to usher in a new generation of wind projects expected to eventually generate an investment of 20bn.

The business intends to auction off new seabed rights in the waters around England and Wales to wind power developers. The leasing scheme allows up to 7GW of electricity generation capacity - enough to meet the needs of more than 6m homes.