The developer behind two of the three new offshore wind farms that now have lease agreements off the region’s coastline has given further details on the dual project.
RWE is behind Dogger Bank South, with East and West sites now agreed off the North Yorkshire coast with The Crown Estate. Both will have a 1.5GW capacity, slightly higher than the current neighbouring world leader, Hornsea Two, providing the ability to generate enough electricity for three million homes.
Located south of the Sofia project it is currently developing, for which operations and maintenance are to be based in Grimsby, the latest addition to its portfolio that includes Triton Knoll and Humber Gateway is highly likely to follow suit.
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The sites are located more than 100km offshore, in the shallow North Sea zone.
Welcoming the signing, Tom Glover, RWE’s UK country chair, said: “RWE is one of the world’s leaders in offshore wind, and the UK plays a key strategic role in the growth of our renewables business and becoming carbon neutral by 2040. With 10 offshore wind farms now in operation around the UK, RWE is already a leading partner in delivering clean, home-grown energy and security of electricity supply.
"Dogger Bank South (East) and Dogger Bank South (West) will be our largest offshore wind developments to date; using our industry expertise pioneered over 20 years in the UK, we plan to maximise this potential for the benefit of local businesses, creating new, high quality long term jobs and supporting new skills development, investing in both the regional and national economies. We are delighted to be able to take the next steps towards realising this important energy project and look forward to working with local people along the way.”
The German-headquartered company said it has already spent almost two years developing the project at its own risk in order to fast-track ‘DBS’ in support of the UK Government’s net zero aspirations. So far, this has included offshore and onshore studies, collecting metocean data and a series of geophysical and environmental surveys. In July last year, RWE submitted the scoping report for the DBS projects to the Planning Inspectorate which then issued a Scoping Opinion in September 2022.
The results from the Holistic Network Design (HND) process, undertaken by National Grid ESO, were also published last July, and identified that connections to the UK electricity network for both projects would be made to a new substation at a location near the Creyke Beck National Grid substation. Since then, RWE has been engaged in a process of site selection looking at potential locations to house the onshore electrical infrastructure required to transfer the electricity generated by the wind farms into the UK electricity network.
Shortlisted locations and routes are being assessed and will be outlined in a report it plans to publish this spring, with a timeline that would see an application for a development consent order made next year.
As previously reported, Grimsby has been highlighted as its location for long-term excellence in offshore wind operations and maintenance.
Following the lease agreements, with the three farms off the Humber joined by three in the North West, Renewable UK chief executive Dan McGrail said: "This announcement represents a major step forward not just for these major offshore wind projects but also for the industry as a whole, as these lease agreements will strengthen our energy security, create jobs and support development of new UK supply chains. It demonstrates the continuing ability of the UK to attract billions of pounds in private investment due to the maturity of our world-class offshore wind market, which is enabling the redevelopment and regeneration of all areas of the UK, especially in coastal communities which need levelling up. Offshore wind is playing the leading role in the UK's transition to clean power, becoming the backbone of our future energy system, and helping us to reach net zero as fast as possible."
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