Danish utility Dong Energy has secured approval from the UK government for the development of the $7.8bn Hornsea 2 offshore wind farm in the North Sea.
Said to be the world’s largest of its kind, the 1.8GW Hornsea Project Two offshore wind project secured development consent from Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark following recommendation from the Planning Inspectorate.
The Development Consent Order (DCO) includes the project’s turbines, foundations, offshore and onshore substations, array cables and export cables.
Planned to be built in approximately 89km off the Yorkshire coast, the wind farm is being developed by SMartWind and will be owned by Dong Energy.
Featuring up to 300 wind turbines, the project will generate low carbon electricity to power around 1.8 million UK homes. It will be connected to the grid at North Killingholme in North Lincolnshire and
The wind project is expected to create up to 1,960 jobs during construction phase and 580 operational and maintenance jobs.
Dong Energy UK Country chairman Brent Cheshire said: said: "Development consent for Hornsea Project Two is very welcome. We have already invested £6 billion in the UK, and Hornsea Project Two provides us with another exciting development opportunity in offshore wind.
"A project of this size will help in our efforts to continue reducing the cost of electricity from offshore wind and shows our commitment to investing in the UK."
The UK government plans have 10GW of installed offshore wind capacity by the end of this decade.
The decision was made on the merits of the scheme based on a report and recommendation from the Planning Inspectorate. .
Dong Energy has already secured planning permission for the adjacent 1.2GW Hornsea One offshore wind farm.
Image: UK plans have 10GW of installed offshore wind capacity by the end of 2020. Photo: © Crown copyright.