Crown Estate Scotland’s latest annual report confirms that a record level of revenue has been generated for public spending, with the potential for billions of pounds to be invested in Scottish offshore wind.   

In addition to a significant financial contribution towards spending on public services in Scotland, the 2021-22 Annual Report & Accounts outlines a range of initiatives to empower local communities, create jobs, deliver net-zero, and support sustainable economic growth. 

Highlights from the 2021-22 annual report include:    

• Supporting the sustainable expansion of Scotland’s Blue Economy with ScotWind - the first offshore wind leasing round in Scotland for a decade - resulting in an initial 17 seabed agreements being offered. NB. This number has risen to 20 agreements in 2022-23, following the Clearing process, and currently totals up to 27.6GW of clean energy. Along with being a major step forward in delivering Scotland’s net-zero targets, initial total Scottish commitments, taking into account all 20 projects, total £28.8bn, indicating an average of £1.4bn investment in Scotland per project built, and £1bn investment in Scotland per gigawatt of capacity built. 
• £15.7m surplus paid to the Scottish Government to support public spending, bringing the total since Crown Estate Scotland was set up in 2017 to £59.6m.  
• New partnerships with Angus Council and Angus & Dundee College to ensure the innovation park at ZeroFour, near Montrose, is developed in a way that delivers local benefits including new jobs associated with the blue and green economies. 
• Completing an extensive review of aquaculture leasing, which will ensure rents reflect market value to secure maximum benefit for Scottish public funds and help mitigate the cumulative impacts of the sector. 
• Purchasing property in Portgordon, Moray, and development of a plan to transfer assets to Portgordon Community Trust Ltd. 
• Launching the new £3m Innovation with Natural Resources (INR) Challenge Fund, which supports a wide range of sectors including agriculture, green energy, aquaculture, and waste reduction. This takes the total number of challenge funds launched by Crown Estate Scotland in 2021-22 to three, with an investment pool totalling £9m.  
• Increase in value of the Scottish Crown Estate to £568.2m, a growth of £112.6m on last year. 
• Partnerships with local authorities including Orkney, North Ayrshire, Angus, and Highland, that will support economic regeneration, provide new jobs, and empower local communities to have more of a say in deciding their own future. 

Recently appointed Chief Executive Ronan O’Hara, said, 
"2021-22 proved to be a period of extraordinary growth across Crown Estate Scotland’s many areas of activity. The success of ScotWind – which has the potential to deliver up to 28GW of clean energy – marked a key milestone in Scotland’s just transition, creating the opportunity for new jobs, multi-million pound payments from Crown Estate Scotland to Scottish Government, and billions of pounds of investment to benefit communities and businesses.  

"This report also details our wide range of investments in property, people, and natural resources, which work to help communities and businesses across Scotland thrive. 

"The revenues we generate each year, which are passed to Scottish and local government for public spending, along with the social and environmental benefits delivered through the estate, demonstrate the key role Crown Estate Scotland has in tackling the climate and nature crises and building a prosperous net zero Scotland. 

"Finally, on behalf of the Crown Estate Scotland team, I wish to offer my sincere thanks to my predecessor Simon Hodge for his outstanding leadership during this period.” 

KeyFacts Renewable Energy Directory: Crown Estate Scotland