Greenpeace UK has accused the Crown Estate of ‘monopoly profiteering’ from offshore wind developments and warned it could take legal action unless the public body changes the way it leases the seabed to energy firms.
Greenpeace UK co-executive director Will McCallum said: ‘The Crown Estate should be managing the seabed in the interest of the nation and the common good, not as an asset to be milked for profit and outrageous bonuses.’
The environmental group says the Crown Estate’s current auction system under which companies bid for the right to build new wind farms, is driving up costs for both developers and household energy bills. Its warning comes ahead of a new round of auctions expected to attract major energy companies competing for plots of seabed.
The Crown Estate, which manages the monarch’s land and property portfolio, owns the UK seabed outside Scotland and earns billions through leasing it for offshore wind projects. According to Greenpeace, the estate’s shift to an uncapped bidding system has inflated costs across the renewables sector, while boosting profits for the Treasury, the Royal Household and senior executives.
In the latest auction round, which concluded in January 2023, developers faced unlimited ‘option fees,’ replacing the capped system used previously. The change pushed revenues from offshore wind to record levels, generating more than £1 billion for the estate in 2024/25.
Greenpeace says these profits have also driven a rise in King Charles’s official income, which will climb from £86.3 million this year to £132.1 million in 2025/26, and in the Crown Estate Commissioner’s pay, which has increased fivefold to £1.9 million a year.
Greenpeace argues the inflated fees are ultimately passed on to consumers through higher electricity costs. The group is calling for an urgent review of the auction process and for surplus revenues to be reinvested in marine restoration projects.
In correspondence with the estate, Greenpeace said it has a legal duty to support the UK’s climate targets and avoid exploiting its monopoly position. However, the Crown Estate’s management has maintained that its primary obligation is to maximise profit, a stance Greenpeace says contradicts previous assurances to Parliament that the estate ‘cannot exploit its monopoly position.’
McCallum added: ‘We should leave no stone unturned in looking for solutions to lower energy bills that are causing misery to millions of households. Given how crucial affordable bills and clean energy are to the government’s agenda, the Chancellor should use her powers of direction to ask for an independent review of how these auctions are run. If the problem isn’t fixed before the next round, we may need to let a court decide whether or not what’s happening is lawful.’
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