Thursday 13 July 2023

UK approves second largest offshore wind project

The government has awarded planning permission to Ørsted for the Hornsea 4 wind farm, an offshore wind project off the east coast of England.

The decision comes after months of additional consultations following the examination process.

Ørsted plans to install up to 180 turbines at the site located 69 kilometres off Yorkshire.

The government had delayed its decision on the project in February due to concerns over the overlapping footprint with a bp-led carbon capture project on the sea floor.

In the decision letter, the Secretary of State stated that the significant benefits of the proposed development in contributing to the urgent need for low carbon energy infrastructure outweigh the identified harms.

Hornsea 4 is set to become the second largest offshore wind project in the UK, with a capacity of up to 2.6GW and the potential to power over one million homes.

RenewableUK's Executive Director of Policy, Ana Musat, commended the government's decision, emphasising the importance of building new clean energy projects to generate affordable power and bolster domestic supply chains.

Musat highlighted that Hornsea 4 will enhance Britain's energy security, reduce reliance on international gas prices and make significant progress towards the nation's net zero targets.

Hornsea 4 follows the approval of other major offshore wind projects in the UK, including Hornsea Three, the largest to date with a capacity of 2.8GW and Hornsea Two, which is fully operational and has a capacity of 1.3GW.

Hornsea One, with a capacity of 1.2GW, has been operating since 2020.