Ørsted

Summary

The requester asked for annual income received by the Department of Infrastructure from Ørsted for the Mooir Vannin seabed lease since 2015/16. The Department refused to disclose the information, citing exemptions related to economic and commercial interests.

Key Facts

• The request concerns income from the seabed lease for the Mooir Vannin offshore renewable energy project.
• The Department of Infrastructure withheld the information under Section 30 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015.
• The authority determined that protecting the island's economic interests and investor confidence outweighed the public interest in disclosure.
• The case was reviewed and the outcome was upheld as partial by the Information Commissioner on 2025-03-28.
• The request was received on 2024-10-15 and the initial response was issued on 5 November 2024.

Data Disclosed

• 2015/16
• 2024-10-15
• 5 November 2024
• 2025-03-28
• 4190557
• Section 30

Exemptions Cited

• Section 30 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (prejudice to economic interests of the island and commercial interests of persons)

Original Request

I request the following information from the Department of Infrastructure. For each financial year since 2015/16, how much income has the Department of Infrastructure recieved from Ørsted (formerly DONG Energy) associated with the seabed lease for the offshore renewable energy project now known as Mooir Vannin?

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF

Contact: FOI Response Team Telephone: (01624) 686785 Email: dpo-doi@gov.im

Our ref: 4190557 5 November 2024

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 15 October 2024, which states:

"I request the following information from the Department of Infrastructure.

For each financial year since 2015/16, how much income has the Department of Infrastructure recieved from Ørsted (formerly DONG Energy) associated with the seabed lease for the offshore renewable energy project now known as Mooir Vannin?"

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the information is exempt from disclosure under section 30 of the Act as disclosure would be likely to prejudice the economic interests of the island and the commercial interests of person (including the Department of Infrastructure).

As section 30 is a qualified exemption, it is subject to a public interest test. The public interest must be something that is of serious concern and benefit to the public at large.

Factors in favour of disclosure • The need to hold the Department to account for their stewardship of public resources
• There is a public interest in the revenue generated from the seabed leasing to Ørsted

Factors in favour of withholding • The need to protect the commercial interests of the private sector, which plays an important role in the general health of the economy
• The need to protect the economic interests of the island
• The economy is sensitive to even small changes in investor confidence and disclosure of information could lead to more than just a small change in investor confidence • Ongoing/ live matter

In taking these factors into account the Department of Infrastructure determined that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information.

Please quote the reference number 4190557 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.