UK Approves Three Offshore Wind Farms as it Looks to Next Allocation Round

The UK continues to push forward with its focus on renewable energy, with the Energy Secretary Ed Miliband announcing the approval of three projects, two of which have already completed electricity contracts and are likely to move forward quickly. It comes as the Crown Estate released a new report saying the UK has reached 19 percent of its energy generation coming from offshore wind energy and a total of 30 percent coming from a combination of onshore and offshore wind energy generation.

The UK continues to grow its lead over the rest of Europe and is second only to China in the amount of energy generated from offshore wind farms. According to the data from the Crown Estate, the country has 54 offshore wind farms in operation or under construction. This includes 46 fully commissioned offshore wind farms, 2,820 turbines, and 42 offshore substations, for a capacity of 16.5 GW.

Last year, more than half of the UK’s electricity came from renewable sources, with wind energy having surpassed domestic gas as a source of power. The government continues its strong support with a target of up to 50 GW of offshore wind generation capacity by 2030. Currently, there is 11.7 GW of capacity under construction, and the Crown Estate reports a total pipeline of 93 GW, including projects ranging from under consent to early-stage planning.

(Crown Estate)

To that end, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero reported on Thursday that it has granted development consent to three additional projects, each involving RWE. The trade group Renewable UK hailed the decisions, calling them the next milestone for the development of offshore wind in the UK. Combined, the three projects would add 4 GW of capacity.

Two projects, Dogger Bank South West and South East, are the most developed, each having secured Contracts for Difference (CfD) with the UK Government through Allocation Round 7, which was announced in January. The two projects had filed their applications in June 2024 and would be located more than 60 miles off the northeast coast of England. Each would have a capacity of 1.5 GW, and they are now a joint venture between RWE (51 percent) and Masdar (49 percent), which is the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company.

RWE welcomed the decision by the UK. It said they would conduct final design work and progress procurement decisions with an aim of taking a final investment decision in 2027.

The third project to receive consent is the North Falls Wind Farm, which would be about 25 miles off East Anglia. RWE and SSE are working in a joint venture to develop the plan for the wind farm, which could consist of up to 57 turbines and two offshore substations. It would be an extension of the existing 504 MW Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm.

Now that the project has received its consent, the partners report they will fine-tune the design for North Falls Wind to determine the final installed capacity. It will also enter into the allocations seeking to secure its CfD before making a final investment decision.

After a record-setting seventh round, which was announced in January, the government decided to accelerate the next allocation round. It is still working on fine-tuning the form of the next CfD structure, but has said it plans to open Round 8 in July. Anticipation is high with analysts saying that as many as 19 projects are likely to seek CfDs from the next round.