GBInnovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) Leasing Round
Also known as: INTOG, INTOG 2023, Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas Leasing Round, Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round, Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas (INTOG) Leasing Round, Crown Estate Scotland INTOG, Crown Estate Scotland INTOG Leasing Round, Scottish INTOG leasing round, Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas offshore wind leasing round
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INTOG opened in August 2022 within a dense UK-Scottish policy stack: the North Sea Transition Deal had made offshore electrification of oil-and-gas installations a live decarbonisation priority, Scotland's 2045 net-zero framework and 11 GW-by-2030 offshore-wind ambition were already in force, and the British Energy Security Strategy had just raised the UK-wide offshore-wind target to 50 GW by 2030 including 5 GW of floating wind. Bidder expectations were shaped by the immediately preceding ScotWind round, which had established the Crown Estate Scotland leasing architecture, SCDS framework and broad pricing context. A distinctive feature of the market setting was regulatory sequencing: INTOG launched against the March 2022 Initial Plan Framework rather than a final adopted Sectoral Marine Plan, so developers were bidding into an interim spatial instrument while the later planning process was still being formed around the winning project footprints.
8
Sealed · single-round
Exclusivity Agreement + Option Agreement + Seabed lease (Innovation track) + Seabed lease (Targeted Oil and Gas track)
16.9 GW
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GBP 200.0k–67mm
25 years
CPI
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Failure to serve a valid Option Notice within the 7-year Option Period causes termination of the Option Agreement.
Initial agreement granting sole offshore-wind development rights over the awarded application area while the INTOG Sectoral Marine Plan is finalised.
Exclusive development right for the awarded area following inclusion in the final INTOG Sectoral Marine Plan, enabling the project to progress through the option period toward lease.
Full seabed lease for Innovation projects after valid Option Notice service and satisfaction of all conditions.
Full seabed lease for Targeted Oil and Gas projects after valid Option Notice service and satisfaction of all conditions.
→ Without execution, security arrangements, and payment, the applicant does not secure the initial exclusivity right.
→ If the project is not included in the final INTOG SMP, no Option Agreement is offered and the Option Fee is refundable; if the area is reduced by more than 10%, the Option Fee is refundable.
→ Option Agreement cannot be secured without submission of the Initial SCDS.
→ Heads of Terms between the Oil and Gas Installation operator and Applicant are a pre-condition to entering the TOG Option Agreement.
→ Crown Estate Scotland decides whether to accept the update; if accepted it replaces the previous SCDS as the Current SCDS.
→ Updated SCDS cadence continues during the option period; more frequent updates are permitted.
→ If CPS does not demonstrate sufficient achievement against SCDS commitments, remedies apply: £50k at 90% to less than 100%, £100k at 50% to less than 90%, £250k at 25% to less than 50%; below 25% the Lease may not be requested.
→ If the Option Period expires without a valid Option Notice, the Option Agreement terminates. A valid Option Notice requires consents, density at or above 3 MW/km², insurance, approved works specification, approved tenant/security arrangements, accepted CPS with Lowest Percentage Achievement at or above 25%, all payments paid in full, and for TOG projects an Electricity Offtake Agreement with the Oil and Gas Installation operator.
Late delivery: Failure to serve a valid Option Notice within the 7-year Option Period causes termination of the Option Agreement.
Option Fee payable when entering the Exclusivity Agreement. Calculated as Applicant Valuation (£/km²) multiplied by Application Area (km²). Held by Crown Estate Scotland in a standalone account; refundable if the project is not included in the final INTOG SMP or is reduced by more than 10%, but non-refundable if the Tenant declines to execute the Option Agreement.
Trigger: At execution of the Exclusivity Agreement.
Indexation: none — No indexation stated; accrued interest between deposit and Option Agreement signing is released back to the Applicant.
Innovation-track operational rent payable from commencement of operation at £1.07/MWh, CPI-indexed from Exclusivity Agreement commencement, with a 50% discount for the first 5 years of operation; minimum rent applies. Captured with the closest v0.7 enum despite being a per-MWh indexed rent rather than a true flat annual amount.
GBP 1.07 GBP/MWh
Trigger: Date of commencement of operation.
Duration: 25 years
Anchor: fixed year count
Indexation: cpi — CPI-indexed from Exclusivity Agreement commencement; 50% rent discount applies for the first 5 years of operation.
TOG-track operational rent for electricity demonstrated to be supplied to the Oil and Gas Installation: 1% of gross revenue from commencement of operation; minimum rent applies.
1 percent of gross revenue
Trigger: Date of commencement of operation.
Duration: 50 years
Anchor: fixed year count
TOG-track fallback operational rent for electricity not demonstrated to be supplied to the Oil and Gas Installation: 2% of gross revenue from commencement of operation; minimum rent applies.
2 percent of gross revenue
Trigger: Date of commencement of operation.
Duration: 50 years
Anchor: fixed year count
Applicant selects Innovation (IN) track and submits an Applicant Valuation in Question C1.
Metric: Applicant Valuation in GBP/km²; scored linearly relative to the highest IN valuation in the track.
Applicant selects TOG track and submits an Applicant Valuation in Question C1.
Metric: Option Fee derived as Applicant Valuation × Application Area; scored linearly relative to the highest TOG Option Fee in the track.
Stage trigger: Applies only to Innovation-track applications that pass Section B and the minimum category-matched innovation gate.
Only applicants in the IN track complete Section E and select one innovation category at E0.
Metric: Weighted Section E score across E1-E9 using the bidder-selected innovation-category weighting profile.
Single-round dual-track scored application process administered through the INTOG portal. Applicants self-selected into the Innovation (IN) or Targeted Oil and Gas (TOG) track, submitted one binding application, passed Section B qualification checks, and were then ranked by weighted composite scoring within track.
Reserve: — Reserve floor on Applicant Valuation: GBP 5,000/km² for Innovation applications and GBP 50,000/km² for Targeted Oil and Gas applications. Bids below the applicable reserve received 0 points on price and were not taken forward.
Stop: Single application window closing on 2022-11-18; no applications opened for evaluation before window close.
Application must include a GIS shapefile with a single continuous boundary in the prescribed format and coordinate system, located within the permitted Initial Plan Framework geography.
Declared application area must be consistent with the submitted shapefile geometry.
Application boundary must be at least 5 km from existing offshore-wind seabed agreements unless prescribed consent evidence from the existing counterparty is provided.
Innovation applications must not exceed 100 MW. TOG applications must not exceed five times the demonstrated annual electricity demand of the relevant Oil and Gas Installation(s).
Applications must satisfy the minimum capacity density requirement.
Applicants must disclose all Project Partners, relevant equity interests, Wind Farm Delivery Responsibility roles, Funding Organisations and Supplementary Experience Providers, with at least one Project Partner fulfilling the Wind Farm Delivery Responsibility role.
Every listed Project Partner must provide a Board-level Statement of Commitment covering capability, experience, funding availability and responsible-business commitments.
Applicants and relevant delivery parties must commit to appropriate human-rights policies/mechanisms and to Fair Work First practices.
Applicants must provide written assurance that they have not been convicted of specified unlawful conduct within the previous five years.
Application fee must be paid by the deadline.
An organisation with a Wind Farm Delivery Responsibility role may not participate in more than four applications across the round.
TOG projects must be designed to supply renewable electricity directly to existing Oil and Gas infrastructure and must be located within the TOG Areas of Search.
TOG applications must provide a yearly electricity-demand breakdown for the relevant Oil and Gas Installation(s), covering at least five years.
TOG applications must provide Letter(s) of Intent or equivalent evidence from the relevant installation operator(s), and Crown Estate Scotland seeks NSTA's view on whether the information is consistent with operator information held by NSTA.
TOG applications must declare whether they relate to Brownfield or Greenfield development.
Innovation applications must sit within the permitted Innovation geography and outside TOG Areas of Search and exclusion zones.
Evidence of collusion or distortion of competition permits exclusion from the process.
The Lead Applicant must be an incorporated company, and for successful applications the Tenant Organisation entering the Option Agreement must be a UK-registered incorporated company.
Method: quantitative formula
Unit: GBP/km² scored linearly relative to the highest IN valuation
Method: qualitative committee
Unit: 0-100 composite score
Method: qualitative committee
Unit: 0-100 composite score
Method: quantitative formula
Unit: GBP total option fee scored linearly relative to the highest TOG fee
Method: qualitative committee
Unit: 0-100 composite score
- track specific primary tiebreak — Innovation track: highest Innovation score. TOG track: highest absolute Price score (Option Fee).
- track specific secondary tiebreak — Innovation track: highest absolute Price score (Applicant Valuation in GBP/km²). TOG track: highest Applicant Valuation per km².
- deliverability score — Highest Deliverability score within the relevant track.
- best and final offer — If still tied, Crown Estate Scotland invites a Best And Final Offer on price by a closing date it sets; higher BAFO wins.
No revenue-support instrument. Revenue comes from downstream offtake contracts, merchant markets, or bilateral PPAs.
Legal basis: Exercises devolved Scottish seabed-leasing authority under the Scotland Act 2016 and Crown Estate Transfer Scheme 2017.
Option Fee = Applicant Valuation (GBP/km²) × Application Area (km²)
Maximum TOG Intended Installed Capacity = 5 × demonstrated annual electricity demand evidenced by the application's Letter(s) of Intent
| Winner | Site/Lot | Category | Awarded MW | Price | Total Value | Delivery | Term | Mechanism | Signed | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluefloat Energy/Renantis Partnership | — | IN | 99.45 MW | GBP 5,401,360m | 5,401,360 | — | — | auction clearing | — | offered not signed |
| Bluefloat Energy/Renantis Partnership | — | IN | 99.45 MW | GBP 7,107,900m | 7,107,900 | — | — | auction clearing | — | offered not signed |
| Simply Blue Energy | — | IN | 100 MW | GBP 9,972,000m | 9,972,000 | — | — | auction clearing | — | offered not signed |
| BP Alternative Energy Investments | — | IN | 50 MW | GBP 1,670,917m | 1,670,917 | — | — | auction clearing | — | offered not signed |
| ESB Asset Development UK | — | IN | 100 MW | GBP 3,137,000m | 3,137,000 | — | — | auction clearing | — | offered not signed |
| Flotation Energy | — | TOG | 560 MW | GBP 54,893,102m | 54,893,102 | — | — | auction clearing | — | offered not signed |
| Flotation Energy | — | TOG | 1,350 MW | GBP 40,987,979m | 40,987,979 | — | — | auction clearing | — | offered not signed |
| Cerulean Winds | — | TOG | 1,008 MW | GBP 67,200,066m | 67,200,066 | — | — | auction clearing | — | offered not signed |
| Cerulean Winds | — | TOG | 1,008 MW | GBP 35,200,098m | 35,200,098 | — | — | auction clearing | — | offered not signed |
| Cerulean Winds | — | TOG | 1,008 MW | GBP 35,200,098m | 35,200,098 | — | — | auction clearing | — | offered not signed |
| TotalEnergies | — | TOG | 3 MW | GBP 200,000m | 200,000 | — | — | auction clearing | — | offered not signed |
| Harbour Energy | — | TOG | 15 MW | GBP 405,000m | 405,000 | — | — | auction clearing | — | offered not signed |
| Harbour Energy | — | TOG | 15 MW | GBP 405,000m | 405,000 | — | — | auction clearing | — | offered not signed |
| Flotation Energy and Vårgrønn | Green Volt | — | 560 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | 19 Apr 2024 | offered and signed |
| TotalEnergies E&P North Sea UK Limited | Culzean Floating Wind project | — | 3 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | 25 Mar 2026 | offered and signed |
| Salamander Wind Project Company Ltd | Salamander Innovation | — | 100 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | 22 Aug 2025 | offered and signed |
| Bluefloat Energy/Renantis Partnership | 1 | Category: Innovation; Innovation category: Commercial | 99.45 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| Bluefloat Energy/Renantis Partnership | 2 | Category: Innovation; Innovation category: Supply chain | 99.45 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| Simply Blue Energy (Scotland) | 3 | Category: Innovation; Innovation category: Supply chain | 100 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| BP Alternative Energy Investments | 4 | Category: Innovation; Innovation category: New Markets | 50 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| ESB Asset Development | 5 | Category: Innovation; Innovation category: Cost reduction | 100 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| Flotation Energy | 6 | Category: Targeted Oil ed Oil & Gas | 560 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| Cerulean Winds | 7 | Category: Targeted Oil ed Oil & Gas | 1,008 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| Harbour Energy | 8 | Category: Targeted Oil ed Oil & Gas | 15 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| Cerulean Winds | 9 | Category: Targeted Oil & Gas | 1,008 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| Cerulean Winds | 10 | Category: Targeted Oil & Gas | 1,008 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| Flotation Energy | 11 | Category: Targeted Oil ed Oil & Gas | 1,350 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| TotalEnergies | 12 | Category: Targeted Oil & Gas | 3 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| Harbour Energy | 13 | Category: Targeted Oil & Gas | 15 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| Bluefloat Energy/Renantis Partnership | 1 | IN | 99.45 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| Bluefloat Energy/Renantis Partnership | 2 | IN | 99.45 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| Simply Blue Energy | 3 | IN | 100 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| BP Alternative Energy Investments | 4 | IN | 50 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| ESB Asset Development UK | 5 | IN | 100 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| Flotation Energy | 6 | TOG | 560 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| Cerulean Winds | 7 | TOG | 1,008 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| Cerulean Winds | 8 | TOG | 1,008 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| Cerulean Winds | 9 | TOG | 1,008 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| Flotation Energy | 10 | TOG | 1,350 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| TotalEnergies | 11 | TOG | 3 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |
| Harbour Energy | 12 | TOG | 15 MW | — | — | — | — | auction clearing | — | — |