Question reference: S6W-08313
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 19 May 2022
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Current status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 June 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the reasons for Crown Estate Scotland’s position, as stated in the ScotWind Pre-Launch Summary, published in July 2019, that it was “currently minded” that applicants should not pay more than £10,000 per km2 of seabed.
Answer
Crown Estate Scotland is responsible for the ScotWind seabed leasing process, including setting Option Agreement fees and rent prices. Crown Estate Scotland informed Scottish Government of its pricing structure based on its own evidence gathering and information available at the time. Once projects are under seabed leases and wind farms are generating energy, rental payments are annual – these are separate from the Option Agreement payments.