ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the emergence of the offshore wind sector and the government backing that it has won, summarises the regulatory provisions that are being applied in the UK and describes the limited role of planning authorities within the authorising processes. Offshore wind farms have started to appear on north European coastlines. The UK has begun its own large-scale programme of exploiting offshore wind resources and other nations are set to do the same. The development of wind farms as a form of renewable energy production has accelerated worldwide. That the resource potential has finally been recognised, the UK has drawn up a policy framework favouring the large-scale development of offshore wind farms. The development of Round 1 offshore wind farms began without the introduction of any new legislation or consents procedures; existing mechanisms were simply adapted to fit the new form of marine development.
