Crown Estate accused of ‘monopoly profiteering’ as Welsh households face higher energy bills

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have accused the Crown Estate of ‘monopoly profiteering’ after warning that offshore wind leasing practices are pushing up energy bills for households across Wales.

The party says the Crown Estate’s decision to run uncapped auctions for access to the seabed has driven developers to pay vastly inflated fees simply to secure sites for offshore wind farms.

Those costs, they argue, are ultimately passed on to consumers through the UK Government’s Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, increasing electricity prices.

The criticism follows analysis highlighted by Greenpeace UK showing that the fourth round of offshore wind leases generated more profit for the Crown Estate than all previous rounds combined, due largely to the removal of bid caps.

Environmental campaigners say this structure is now adding unnecessary costs to renewable energy development at a time when bills remain high and the transition to clean energy is urgent.

Welsh Liberal Democrat MP David Chadwick challenged Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens in Parliament on Wednesday, arguing that Wales sees “little direct benefit” from rising profits made from natural resources located off the Welsh coast.

His party is calling for the devolution of the Crown Estate to Wales, reforms to the auction process, and mechanisms to ensure that offshore wind projects directly benefit coastal communities.

“It is unacceptable that wealth is being taken out of Wales while local communities see so little in return,” Mr Chadwick said. “People in Wales should be benefiting from clean, affordable energy—not paying higher bills because the Crown Estate has been allowed to run uncapped, profit-maximising auctions.”

‘Ripped off’

Greenpeace UK echoed the concern, with political campaigner Angharad Hopkinson warning: “The people of Wales are being ripped off. The Crown Estate’s profiteering—charging developers huge fees just to use the seabed—is driving up costs before a single turbine is built, and those costs are being passed straight onto households.”

In response, the Crown Estate rejected the accusations, insisting Greenpeace had “misunderstood” its legal responsibilities and the way leasing works. In a statement, it said: “Greenpeace has misunderstood The Crown Estate’s legal duties and leasing processes. It’s reductive to suggest that we’re focused on short-term gains over the long-term success of the UK’s offshore wind sector.

“Option fees are not fixed by The Crown Estate. They are set by the developers through open, competitive auctions and reflect market appetite at the time. As our net revenue is returned to the Treasury, option fees help to ensure that taxpayers benefit from the requisite value from the development of our scarce and precious seabed resource.”

Net profits

The organisation emphasised that all net profits are returned to taxpayers via the Treasury, contributing £5 billion over the past decade, and argued that offshore wind remains one of the lowest-cost forms of new energy generation.

The Crown Estate also highlighted its wider investments in floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea, which it says will create more than 5,000 jobs and stimulate a £1.4 billion boost to the economy during construction.