Wind Energy 

RYA focused on the safety of navigation in and around wind farms.

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

Round 3 wind farms

 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.

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.