The UK’s Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero has granted development consent for the Hornsea Four offshore wind project.
Located 69km off the coast of Yorkshire, the project is the second largest wind farm to receive government approval, after the Hornsea Three Project.
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The announcement follows a five-month delay. Hornsea Four’s developer, Danish wind company Ørsted, applied for approval in September 2021. However, the UK’s planning authority only handed the decision to the government earlier this year.
The fourth phase of the Hornsea wind farm will include 180 wind turbines, capable of powering one million homes.
Hornsea Four will have a 2.6GW capacity in comparison with Hornsea Three’s 2.8GW and 1.2GW, and 1.3GW for Hornsea One and Two respectively. All of the wind farms are operated by Ørsted, off of the UK’s east coast in the North Sea.
Planning Inspectorate’s chief executive Paul Morrison in a statement: “The Examining Authority listened and gave full consideration to all local views and the evidence gathered during the examination before making its recommendation to the Secretary of State.”
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By GlobalDataØrsted added that it was “delighted to confirm” that Hornsea Four would be proceeding.
According to the company, Hornsea Four “is the first-ever offshore wind farm to be examined alongside a derogation case including environmental compensation”.
The UK Government’s derogation tests are used when a site is considered of large enough significance that it could negatively impact natural habitats.
Ørsted said: “Climate change remains a very serious threat to our environment and habitats and there is an ever-pressing need to act. We must accelerate the build-out of renewable energy.”
The company added that it will review the full development consent order before moving forwards.
The approval has been celebrated by renewables campaigners in the UK. RenewableUK director Ana Musat told the Guardian that the wind farm would “strengthen Britain’s energy security significantly, helping us to move away from the volatility of international gas prices and closer towards energy independence”.
The UK Government has a target to deploy 50GW of offshore wind by 2030 as part of its Powering Up Britain policy package.
