“Today’s announcement shows the confidence the market has in the future of the sector, with developers committing to invest in the planning and consenting of projects that will help form the backbone of UK offshore wind development beyond 2020″, he said in a statement.
The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has given planning consent to Forewind consortium for construction of the 2.4GW Teesside A and B offshore wind farms along England’s north-east coast.
The Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, approved the application for Dogger Bank Teesside A&B, submitted to the Planning Inspectorate by Forewind in March 2014.
When constructed, Dogger Bank Teesside A&B will be one of UK’s largest power generators, equal to Dogger Bank Creyke Beck and second only to the 3.9GW Drax coal-fired station in North Yorkshire.
The project is being taken forward by Forewind – a consortium comprising SSE, RWE, Statkraft and Statoil. Combined with the positive seabed survey results and strong wind measurements, the consent confirms Dogger Bank’s suitability for large-scale offshore wind development.
Designed to meet electricity requirement of up to 1.8 million homes in the UK, the Teesside A and B wind farms represent the second phase of the larger Dogger Bank Zone development which involves construction four additional wind farms of 1.2GW each.
RenewableUK’s chief executive Maria McCaffery said: “This awe-inspiring offshore wind project has taken another significant step forward”. This is especially the case, considering recent figures from the global Monetary Fund which highlight the absurd discrepancy between subsidies being doled out to the fossil fuel energy industry in the UK (and globally), compared to the renewable energy industry, which is forever being forced to suffer cutbacks of Government aid.
Officials told The Northern Echo the farm is due to be built by August 2022, with its turbines expected to be taller than those used on EDF Energy Renewables’ Teesside Wind Farm, at Redcar, which is capable of powering about 40,000 homes.
Ministers recently confirmed the next round of price support contracts for clean energy projects will not go ahead in the autumn as planned and a review of renewable energy policy is underway in response to concerns the government is on track to exceed its clean energy subsidy budget for 2020 by around £1.5bn.
“However, the ambition of the industry needs to be matched by a vision from Government which is backed up by firm commitments on the levels of financial provision which will be available”.
Ms McCaffery said: “The industry is set to play its part – but it needs a fair wind from Westminster in order to do so”.
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations said Dogger Bank was an important site for fishing. “The scale of the Dogger Bank projects offers a significant opportunity to continue to drive down costs, create high value jobs, and support the UK’s transition to a low carbon energy supply”.
Forewind and the Crown Estate will announce the two remaining phases of the Dogger Bank project have progressed to the next stage of development with the two parties signing a “project specific agreement” for the relevant area of seabed.
UK Green-Lights 2.4 GW Offshore Wind Project
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