The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero has granted a Development Consent Order (DCO) for the Five Estuaries Offshore Wind Farm, marking a significant milestone in the development of this UK renewable energy project.
Five Estuaries is owned by various shareholders including RWE, which is leading the development of the project on behalf of the project partners. The offshore wind project is owned by RWE (33.33%), a Macquarie-led consortium (25%), ESB (20.83%) and Sumitomo Corporation (20.83%.)
An extension to the operational Galloper Wind Farm, the project is to be located in the southern North Sea across two seabed areas covering approximately 128 km². Five Estuaries is consented to comprise up to 79 wind turbines, with a maximum tip height of 370 metres, plus foundations.
Under the approved plans, electricity generated by the wind farm would be transmitted ashore via subsea cables to Sandy Point, located between Frinton-on-Sea and Holland-on-Sea in Essex. From there, underground cables will connect to a new substation west of Little Bromley, eventually joining the East Anglia Connection Node on the proposed National Grid’s Norwich–Tilbury transmission corridor.
Danielle Lane, RWE Director of Development for UK and Ireland, commented: “We are delighted to have received development consent for Five Estuaries. This achievement reflects years of dedicated community engagement and collaboration with local stakeholders.”
Once fully constructed, Five Estuaries would be capable of generating sufficient electricity to power the equivalent of up to 1 million typical UK homes annually. During construction and operations, the project would support hundreds of new and existing skilled jobs, both directly and across the wider supply chain. Strategically, the project could also play an important role in helping ensure UK security of supply of domestically generated clean power and support the Government's transition towards a decarbonised electricity system.
In the meantime, the project team is continuing to work with regional skills and educational organisations, businesses and communities to develop its skills and supply chain strategies, while progressing with the detailed design elements of the project. The project will continue to keep local people and stakeholders informed of activities associated with building the wind farm and its progress.
Pictures for media use (credit: RWE) are available at the RWE Media Centre.
Further information about Five Estuaries Offshore Wind Farm can be found here.
