Offshore wind offers tentative welcome to Marine Management Organisation

The wind energy industry offered a cautious welcome to the Marine and Coastal Access Bill outlined in the Queen's Speech today, claiming the legislation should help simplify the complex planning rules governing the development of offshore wind farms.

Maria McCaffery MBE, chief executive of the British Wind Energy Association, said that she hoped the creation of a new single body tasked with managing the marine environment would help ensure that conservation and renewable energy interests are balanced.

"The Marine and Coastal Access Bill is a pioneering piece of legislation, but we must ensure that it allows for the expansion of marine renewable energy, including offshore wind, wave and tidal," she said. "It would be a pyrrhic victory if short-term conservation undermined long-term sustainability and our ability to tackle climate change."

The renewables industry remains fearful that a number of high-profile marine energy projects, such as the proposed Severn tidal barrage, could yet be derailed by concerns over coastal conservation.

The draft legislation for the Bill says it will provide "greater confidence and economic benefits for marine developers through simplification of the legislative framework and faster planning decisions with greater transparency and less uncertainty".

However, the BWEA warned that for this to be achieved, the timetable from passing the bill must be complementary with the current Round 3 process for the next generation of offshore wind farms. It also argued that the new Marine Management Organisation that will be launched as part of the bill must be adequately resourced and with sustainable development clearly defined within its remit.

The WWF said it also hoped the bill would lead to more integrated management for the competing demands of offshore renewable energy developments and fisheries activities.

It is not yet clear how the responsibilities of the new marine management organisation sit with those of the Crown Estate, which is currently responsible for running tenders for, and approving, offshore wind farms.

The Crown Estate was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.

In addition to the Marine and Coastal Access Bill, the Queen's Speech also raised the prospect of a widening skills pool for the fast-expanding clean tech sector as a result of the Education and Skills Bill, which will create provisions for a new National Apprenticeships Service, driven by learners and employers and designed to alleviate skills shortages across the UK economy.