Part 13: Offshore Wind Electricity Generation, Oil and Gas Chapter 1: Offshore Wind Electricity Generation Section 291: Strategic compensation for adverse environmental effects
If a relevant offshore wind activity has undertaken all feasible measures to avoid, reduce and mitigate an "adverse environmental effect" (as defined in subsection (4)) on protected sites, a public authority may decide to agree to a relevant offshore wind activity in the public interest (such as energy security and net zero targets). Compensatory measures must then be undertaken or secured.
	This section enables the public authority that is subject to environmental compensation obligations to determine that compensatory measures taken or secured count towards discharging relevant environmental compensation obligations. The intention is that ‘strategic compensation’ may be delivered in relation to one or more relevant offshore wind activities, through the powers in subsection (3).
	A definition of ‘public authority’ is included in section 295. Section 291 only applies where a public authority is subject to one or more environmental compensation obligations (a statutory duty or condition under 291(2)). The reference to "the public authority" in 291(3) is to whichever public authority is subject to the environmental compensation obligation in question. For example, the Scottish Ministers may be the public authority that is subject to an environmental compensation obligation in certain cases.
	Subsection (3) sets out that the public authority may determine that measures taken or secured, or to be taken or secured, by it may count towards discharging its environmental compensation obligations. It enables the delivery of strategic compensation, for example through the ‘banking’ of measures that have already been delivered so they can be allocated against future relevant offshore wind activities and enables measures that will be delivered in the future to be allocated against relevant offshore wind activities. When considering whether the environmental obligations have been discharged, a public authority may rely on a combination of measures that have already been taken and measures to be delivered in the future. As per subsection (5), these measures may be taken either at the same site(s) as the relevant offshore wind activity or elsewhere.
	Subsection (7) allows for one public authority to treat measures taken or secured (or to be taken or secured) by another public authority as measures taken or secured (or to be taken or secured) in the exercise of its own functions if it has the consent of the other public authority. For example, this could allow the Marine Management Organisation to treat compensatory measures that have already been taken or secured by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Secretary of State as taken or secured by the Marine Management Organisation when determining a marine licence in relation to a relevant offshore wind activity, provided the department’s Secretary of State has given consent to do so.
	Subsections (6) and (8) provide definitions for the interpretation of section 291, giving the meaning of protected marine areas and relevant conservation objectives with reference to existing legislation.