01/02/2023 | Offshore wind

New report highlights offshore wind industry’s key role in nature conservation

01 February 2023 - RenewableUK press release


Commenting on The Crown Estate’s Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme annual report which was published today, RenewableUK’s Chief Executive Dan McGrail said:


“As this report shows, the offshore wind industry is working closely with a wide range of stakeholders, including The Crown Estate, UK governments and conservation bodies such as Natural England, Marine Scotland, Natural Resources Wales and the RSPB, to ensure we build offshore wind projects in a sensitive way which protects our rich biodiversity. 


“The Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme is gathering valuable data to enable us to build vital new clean energy infrastructure in a sustainable way, ensuring that wildlife continues to flourish in British waters - and that we share the seas successfully with other sectors such as the fishing industry by working collaboratively with other marine users”.


“Ramping up our offshore wind capacity rapidly is one of the most important practical steps we can take to tackle climate change, which is the biggest threat to wildlife. This report highlights the importance of streamlining the consenting process to ensure that we avoid years of needless delays by making it more agile and responsive to the challenges we all face as committed environmentalists”.


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Notes


RenewableUK’s members are building our future energy system, powered by clean electricity. We bring them together to deliver that future faster; a future which is better for industry, billpayers, and the environment. We support over 400 member companies to ensure increasing amounts of renewable electricity are deployed across the UK and to access export markets all over the world. Our members are business leaders, technology innovators, and expert thinkers from right across industry.


More details on The Crown Estate’s Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme annual report are available here.


RenewableUK’s events programme is available here.


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