Planning nod given for 3GW offshore wind farms

The approval was granted through a Development Consent Order (DCO) signed by Lord Whitehead on behalf of the UK Energy Secretary for the two projects, Dogger Bank South East and Dogger Bank South West, and the projects will mean a lot of work for the offshore marine supply chain.

Sited more than 100km off the northeast coast of England in the North Sea, the two co-located wind farms will each have a planned installed capacity of 1.5GW, giving the scheme a combined 3GW output. The projects are being developed as a joint venture, with RWE holding a 51% stake and Masdar 49%.

In a joint statement, the partners welcomed the consent decision, which clears a key permitting hurdle after the projects secured Contracts for Difference (CfD) in the UK Government’s Allocation Round 7 in January 2026. RWE and Masdar said the projects “will now progress towards a final investment decision and construction”, with detailed design work and procurement activities expected ahead of a targeted final investment decision in 2027.

The DCO application was submitted in June 2024 and involved a substantial regulatory process, including more than 1,000 documents reviewed by the Planning Inspectorate and 10 examination hearings.

The developers say the projects could create significant opportunities for marine contractors, ports, fabrication yards and regional supply chains across Yorkshire and the Humber during development and construction.

In UK offshore wind terms, Dogger Bank South sits among the country’s largest schemes. At 3GW, it matches the capacity of the existing three-phase Dogger Bank A, B and C development currently under build and exceeds major UK projects such as Hornsea Three (2.9W), Sofia (1.4GW) and East Anglia Three (1.4GW).

Once operational in the early 2030s, DBS will reinforce the Dogger Bank zone as the centrepiece of Britain’s offshore wind build-out and one of the world’s largest offshore renewable clusters.