UK Planning Inspectorate Accepts Forewind’s Application

The UK Planning Inspectorate accepted offshore wind developer, Forewind’s second development consent order application for the Dogger Bank Zone.

The application for the 2.4 gigawatt (GW) Dogger Bank Teesside A&B development comes eight months after Forewind submitted its first application, for the 2.4GW Dogger Bank Creyke Beck proposal, which is almost half-way through the examination phase.

This means the organisation now has a total of 4.8GW in the planning system, which is more than the total of all installed offshore wind capacity currently in operation in the UK.

Dogger Bank Teesside A&B comprises two offshore wind farms each with an installed capacity of up to 1.2GW and is proposed to connect to the national grid at the existing Lackenby substation near Eston, in the Borough of Redcar & Cleveland.

The development consent order application was submitted in late March after almost four years of intense preparatory work including surveys and research, reporting and stakeholder engagement activity.

It has the potential to generate around 8 Terawatt hours (TWh) of green power every year, which is equivalent to the electricity used annually by approximately 1.8 million British homes. It could also create up to 4750 new direct and indirect jobs and generate more than £1.5 billion for the UK economy.

Following its acceptance of the application, the Planning Inspectorate will now begin a pre-examination phase that will be followed by a formal examination process. Together these should take around 10 months before a recommendation is forwarded to the Secretary of State to make the final consent decision.

Forewind General Manager Dr Lee Clarke said: “We have reached this stage only through positive collaboration between the four project partners, our suppliers and contractors, and due to meaningful and ongoing engagement with all the relevant stakeholders,” he said.

Huub den Rooijen, Head of Offshore Wind at The Crown Estate said that this year has seen a number of significant milestones for the UK offshore wind industry.

“Today’s accepted planning application for the Dogger Bank Teesside A&B development is another great example of how the sector continues to go from strength to strength,” he said.

“As manager of the UK seabed, we look forward to continuing to work closely with Forewind and the wider sector to bring down the costs of offshore wind, such as through investing in technological research and environmental studies, to promote a more effective industry and help the UK’s transition to a low carbon economy.”