In the UK, the Crown Estate is responsible for the management of the seabed and facilitates competing demands for space by different sectors such as offshore wind, cables, pipelines. As managers of the seabed, the Crown Estate is the competent authority charged with ensuring that, in selecting sites for offshore wind development, legislation such as the Habitats and Birds Directives are adhered to so that high biodiversity value (e.g Natura 2000) sites are protected from impacts of the various activities undertaken at sea. How well this works in practice is unclear, but the system is designed to ensure that, in the face of the unprecedented expansion of offshore renewable energy infrastructure, sites are selected to minimise the associated increased risk to biodiversity.

The Crown Estate assesses areas for suitability and determines whether the Directives are satisfied before any seabed rights are awarded. The Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) must be conducted before any seabed rights can be awarded to developers. The support of relevant planning authorities and nature conservation bodies may contribute to the final decision.

In Ireland, the first offshore Maritime Area Consents (MACs) were awarded to seven proposed offshore renewable energy projects in December 2022 by the Minister for the Environment. The 45-year seabed consents were granted to ‘legacy’ projects located on sites self-selected by developers more than 20 years ago. These sites were never subject to Strategic Environmental Assessment (EU Directive) and are located on sensitive near-shore sites, close to fish spawning grounds and in high biodiversity value locations, and important bird areas previously proposed for designation as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) under the EU Habitats Directive.

The Maritime Area Regulatory Authority was  established in July 2023 and will be the new authority for the awarding of consents, licencing, and regulation of Ireland’s inshore and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).