Offshore Energy Developments 

RYA Current Involvement in Wind Farm Development.   

The current UK Government commitment is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80% by 2050 and to produce 15% of its total energy production from renewable resources by 2020, which has led to the development and proposals for wind and tidal energy installations around the UK coast.   

Whilst the RYA acknowledges the Government's desire to promote renewable energy, we are keen to ensure the navigational safety of recreational boating around the coast.   

Over the past ten years we have worked together with the whole maritime community, notably the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Trinity House, the Chamber of Shipping, the UK Major Ports Group and other influential bodies in an effort to limit the effect of offshore renewable developments will have recreational navigation.   

In doing so the RYA has sought to educate the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) and each windfarm developer individually on all the issues regarding recreational boating.  The result has been the wide spread acknowledgement of the importance of navigational safety and regular engagement in the consultation process both at the strategic level as well as on a site by site basis, particularly through the Round 2 and now round 3 site developments.    

So how has the RYA’s involvement safeguarded recreational boating to date?

The essential points underpinning our efforts which now apply to all offshore wind farm developments are:  

• The RYA has achieved the position where we are now consistently consulted directly by each developer to ensure recreational boating is considered and mitigated for appropriately.
• The RYA position has always been focussed on the safety of navigation and is built around two fundamental issues: (A) Avoidance of ‘squeeze’ of craft towards shipping lanes and dangerous coastlines,  (B) Minimisation of ‘diversion’ from the safest and most efficient, habitual and traditional routes.
• The RYA has ensured that the towers present a minimum obstacle by establishing a suitable standard for lighting and marking in collaboration with Trinity House and that the turbine blades are always at a height (>22m) above that of almost all sailing vessels.
• The RYA has worked very hard to establish a position with the developers which avoids mandatory safety boundaries around the bases of the individual towers, other than during their construction.  We have been particularly successful on this point as other countries have imposed tower and entire field exclusions.          

Are there any publications to support the RYA’s Position?

The RYA has developed a detailed position statement based on data for recreational craft which we provide to each and every developer during the consultation process.  All the RYAs concerns regarding recreational boating and offshore wind farm developments are included in this statement and the RYA expects the information within the document to be addressed in the future development of each project.   

The RYA have also carried out an extensive mapping project to identify cruising routes, sailing and racing areas to better inform the management process. Initially this culminated in a detailed description of cruising routes, racing and sailing areas for the three strategic wind farm development areas in 2004 and is reported in the document 'Sharing the Wind'.

This project then evolved to cover the whole of the UK following considerable demand from the wind farm industry.  In 2005, with funding from Trinity House, the RYA produced the UK Coastal Atlas of Recreational Boating.   This document, along with the GIS mapping coordinates, is now regularly incorporated into developers’ navigational risk assessments and discussed considerably with them by us. 

Have the RYA been involved in the Round 3 projects?

The Crown Estate, acting under Government instructions, released areas for the Round 3 of offshore windfarm developments in 2008.  The RYA was heavily involved in the initial consultation process surrounding the selection of the 9 development zones that now exist.  While some sites are located in areas with relatively low recreational boating use, the RYA objected to several of the sites during the early stages for navigational safety reasons.   

The sites were formally allocated by the Government and the Crown Estate in 2008.  Since then the individual developers have been granted their leases and have begun to apply for the licences required for the specific developments they wish to pursue within each area.          

Whilst we may have concerns about the locations of some of the Round 3 zones, the development of renewable energy installations was a core policy for the previous Government and the current Government continues to regard renewable energy as key theme for its tenure. In addition, given that leases have now been granted by The Crown Estate, there is no realistic prospect of varying the areas already allotted for offshore windfarm development.  Therefore since the sites were allocated two years ago our focus has been on limiting the interference with the ports and shipping industry and on yachting and maritime tourism.   

As with each wind farm development over the past 10 years, the RYA has been contacted by each Round 3 developer, been involved in the consultation process to date and been invited to both private and public meetings to discuss recreational navigational safety.  

It can be assumed at this stage that due to the advances in technology the turbine towers will be larger in size and fewer in number compared with those found in the Round 1 and 2 sites.  This will mean the turbines will be more widely spaced and, so far, we have no indication that developers will seek operational safety zones around the sites.  For more information on the status of the Round 3 sites and the RYA's involvement with the developers please see the attached download titled 'Round Three Update'.    

From the RYA’s perspective, as representing our whole sport and as a recognised negotiator with the developers, our intention is to continue to negotiate directly with all the Round 3 developers, DECC and the Infrastructure Planning Commission as appropriate, and in liaison with our habitual lobbying allies, in order to protect as far as possible the interests of recreational boating.