UK: Hornsea Zone split into four

Following its acquisition of the remainder of the Hornsea zone from Mainstream Renewable Power and Siemens Financial Services in 2015, DONG Energy has now concluded its zone appraisal process which has resulted in project-specific agreements for lease being agreed for three projects: Hornsea Project Two, Hornsea Project Three and Hornsea Project Four.

The previously identified Hornsea Project Three has been split into two separate projects: Hornsea Project Three, to the east of Hornsea Project Two, and Hornsea Project Four, to the west of Hornsea Project Two. This follows DONG Energy’s recent announcement that it will build the 1.2 gigawatt (GW) Hornsea Project One, which will be capable of powering well over 1 million UK homes.

Brent Cheshire, DONG Energy’s UK Country Chairman, said: “We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with The Crown Estate for the Hornsea projects, which highlights once again our absolute commitment to the UK offshore wind market. Having just confirmed that we are building Hornsea Project One – the world’s biggest offshore wind farm – we see these projects as a vital part of our post-2020 pipeline”.

Hornsea Project Two has already been identified as having a capacity of up to 1.8 GW. A planning consent decision for Hornsea Project Two is expected later this year.

Hornsea Project Three, which will shortly be taken forward to external consultation, is estimated to have the potential for 1-2 GW capacity. Hornsea Project Four could add around a further 1 GW.