DONG Energy to develop 1.38 GW offshore wind project in UK

DONG Energy has been awarded a contract to build the Hornsea Project Two offshore wind farm, at the lowest-ever price for offshore wind in the UK. 

At £57,50/MWh (US$77.86/MWh), the strike price for the Contract for Difference (CfD) is 50% lower than the previous round of CfD allocations just two years ago, demonstrating the rapid reduction in cost across the industry.

With a massive capacity of 1,386MW, enough to power over 1.3 million UK homes, Hornsea Project Two will become the world’s biggest wind farm, even surpassing the 1,200MW giant Hornsea Project One which DONG Energy is currently constructing. 

Hornsea Project Two will be built 89 kilometres from the Yorkshire coast and is expected to be operational from 2022.

Samuel Leupold, Executive Vice President and CEO of Wind Power at DONG Energy, said:

“We’re delighted to be awarded a Contract for Difference for Hornsea Project Two, which is another important step towards fulfilling our vision of making offshore wind the most competitive form of electricity generation.”

“We have always promoted size as a key driver for cost. The ideal size of an offshore wind farm is 800-1,500MW, and therefore it is natural that Hornsea Project Two will deliver record-low costs to society. At the same time, the low strike price demonstrates the cost saving potential of developer-built offshore grid connections, which in the UK is included in the project scope.”

Matthew Wright, Managing Director for DONG Energy UK, commented:

“This is a breakthrough moment for offshore wind in the UK and a massive step forward for the industry. Not only will Hornsea Project Two provide low cost, clean energy to the UK, it will also deliver high quality jobs and another huge boost to the UK supply chain.”

“Successive governments deserve great credit for providing the certainty for continued investment in offshore wind, enabling it to become the thriving renewable industry it is today. Costs are falling rapidly, long-term and highly-skilled jobs are being created across the North of England and the UK supply chain is going from strength to strength. We’re now really seeing the benefits of this commitment to offshore wind and there is still so much more to come. Indeed, it has the potential to play a key part in the realisation of the UK’s industrial strategy.”

As we reported in August 2016, Dong Energy received development consent from the Secretary of State for Energy for the construction of the Hornsea Project Two. 

We have lately informed about other offshore wind projects in the UK:

• 860 MW Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm
• 573 MW Race Bank Wind Farm off North Norfolk
• 402 MW Dudgeon Wind Farm in Norfolk
• 317 MW Sheringham Shoal Wind Farm in Norfolk
• 336 MW Galloper offshore wind farm project
• 660 MW Walney Extension wind farm in Cumbria
• 588 MW Beatrice offshore wind farm
• 1.2 GW Dogger Bank Teesside B offshore wind farm on the North Sea
• 1.2 GW Dogger Bank Teesside A offshore wind farm on the North Sea