Procurement Notice

On 28 February 2024, The Crown Estate published a Concession Notice on the UK Government’s Find a Tender portal, formally confirming the launch of the Round 5 tender process for floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea. This step transforms what had been an emerging opportunity into an active competitive procurement round, opening the way for prospective bidders to pursue seabed rights within the designated Celtic Sea Project Development Areas. The Concession Notice, accessible via the government portal, serves as the official contract opportunity announcement and sets out the framework within which interested developers can participate in the leasing process. This publication builds on a sequence of preparatory actions for Round 5 described by The Crown Estate, including the release of an Information Memorandum in December 2023 and a Bidders Day held in Swansea in January 2024 for potential participants. With the Concession Notice now issued, Round 5 is positioned to progress through subsequent stages such as pre-qualification and invitation to tender, ultimately enabling up to 4.5 GW of new floating offshore wind capacity across three fixed-boundary Project Development Areas in the Celtic Sea. For projects intending to compete within these areas, the Concession Notice is the key procedural trigger that aligns developer activity with the formal timetable and requirements of the Crown Estate-led tender.