Offshore wind: environmental compensatory measures reforms

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) want to gather your thoughts on:

• the proposed environmental compensatory measures reforms (ECMR) for offshore wind
• the reformed approach to compensation
• the proposed statutory instrument (SI)
• associated guidance

The reforms intend to provide more clarity on requirements for environmental compensation for offshore wind developments when there is unavoidable damage to a marine protected area (MPA). Defra proposes introducing a more flexible and pragmatic approach to compensation, which includes broadening the range of compensation measures. This will support the government’s commitments to accelerating net zero and delivering on the clean power by 2030 mission, while unlocking new opportunities for nature recovery.