About
Background
In early 2021, the Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind project was successful in securing Preferred Bidder status for a 1.5GW offshore windfarm in the Southern North Sea as part of the UK’s Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4.
Together, the six Round 4 projects awarded under the Round 4 leasing process, represent just under 8 GW of potential new offshore wind capacity with the opportunity to deliver clean electricity for more than seven million homes and create employment opportunities across the country.
Known as Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind, the site was chosen through a competitive seabed tender process.
The Crown Estate has now completed the Plan-Level Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA), assessing the potential impacts of the Round 4 plan on the UK national network of protected areas, covering its most valuable species and habitats. Following this the Project has been awarded a seabed Agreement for Lease by the Crown Estate.
The Project is conducting a separate Project Level Environmental Assessment which will accompany the application to the Planning Inspectorate. Prior to this consent application, the Project will be consulting on a Preliminary Environmental Information Report as part of our statutory Phase 2 Consultation which will take place over summer 2023.
Further information on our consultation process is detailed in our Statement of Community Consultation.
The Project
Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind is a 1.5GW project located approximately 54km off the Lincolnshire coast.
The project is being developed by Total Energies, Corio Generation (a wholly-owned Green Investment Group portfolio company), and Gulf Energy Developments, and will be one of the UK’s largest offshore wind farms upon completion. It is anticipated to generate renewable electricity equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of over 1.6 million households and will play a critical role in achieving the UK Government’s ambition to deliver 50 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050.
Outer Dowsing will displace the equivalent of nearly 2 million tonnes CO2 emissions per year of operations through the generation of renewable electricity. This is also the equivalent of removing over 650,000 petrol cars from the road for the duration of the Project.
The Partners
TotalEnergies is a global multi-energy company that produces and markets energies: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity.
It’s over 100,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, cleaner, more reliable and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, TotalEnergies puts sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people.
As part of its ambition to get to net zero by 2050, TotalEnergies is building a portfolio of activities in renewables and electricity to reach 35 GW of gross production capacity from renewable sources and storage by 2025, and then 100 GW by 2030 with the objective of being among the world’s top 5 producers of electricity from wind and solar energy.
TotalEnergies is already developing a portfolio of offshore wind projects with a total capacity of more than 11 GW, of which 2/3 are bottom-fixed and 1/3 are floating.
For more information, please visit www.totalenergies.com
Corio Generation is a Green Investment Group (GIG) portfolio company, operating on a standalone basis. GIG is a specialist green investor within Macquarie Asset Management, part of Macquarie Group.
With a unique blend of sector-leading expertise and deep access to long-term capital, Corio Generation applies a long-term partnership approach to the creation and management of projects, taking them from origination, through development and construction, and into operations.
Corio Generation’s 15 GW pipeline is one of the largest in the world, spanning established and emerging markets, as well as floating and traditional fixed-bottom technologies. These next generation offshore wind projects will help form the backbone of the net-zero global energy system while meeting the energy needs of communities and corporate offtakers sustainably, reliably, safely and responsibly.
Corio Generation is a Green Investment Group (GIG) portfolio company, operating on a standalone basis. GIG is a specialist green investor within Macquarie Asset Management, part of Macquarie Group.
For more information visit www.coriogeneration.com
Gulf Energy Development (GULF) is a holding company headquartered in Thailand that invests in a global portfolio of energy, infrastructure, and digital and telecommunications businesses.
GULF brings close to three decades of experience in energy project management and operation, with a mission to invest in businesses related to renewable energy and climate management, in accordance with the global target to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
As one of Thailand’s largest private power producers with over 20 GW of gas-fired and renewable capacity, GULF is committed to supporting the energy transition with onshore and offshore wind projects, solar projects, and other contributions to energy security across various regions to create sustainable shared value in all spheres where it operates.
Project Milestones
The UK Government has ambitious plans to have 50 GW of operating offshore wind capacity installed by 2030 – enough to potentially power every home in the UK.
Innovation and economies of scale within the offshore wind industry have helped to significantly drive down costs whilst at the same time decarbonising the economy and generating thousands of jobs in the supply chain. The sector has supported the regeneration of a number of local coastal communities and economies through both the construction and ongoing maintenance of projects.
The new British Energy Security Strategy is now expected to further increase the number of renewables industry opportunities in the UK by supporting 90,000 jobs in offshore wind by 2028 whilst at the same time reducing our reliance on imported fossil fuels.
Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind will be one of the UK’s largest offshore wind farms upon completion. It is anticipated to generate renewable electricity equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of over 1.6 million households and will play a critical role in achieving the UK Government’s ambition to deliver 50 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050.
The following milestones are planned to be achieved by 2030:
- Round 4 ‘Preferred Bidder’ status awarded (achieved)
- Publication of Scoping Report
- Submission of the Preliminary Environmental Information Report
- Submission of Development Consent Application
- Development consent granted
- Project commissioned and contributing to UK Government’s 2030 offshore wind targets
Timeline of development activities
In the summer of 2023, we consulted on the Preliminary Environmental Information Report (also referred to as the Phase 2 Consultation) as part of the Planning Process. In autumn of 2023 we will hold a targeted consultation to seek feedback on a proposed single cable route and single onshore substation site location. The expert topic groups (ETGs) include statutory stakeholders and nature conservation bodies who advise the project on best practice measures to help shape the project.
FAQs
Climate Change and Energy
Offshore wind farms are considered more reliable than onshore wind farms, as a result of higher wind speed and greater wind consistency. Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind will be part of a network of other offshore wind farms, low carbon power stations, interconnectors and energy storage facilities supporting British electricity supply which, together, given their diverse locations and different operating characteristics will provide energy that can be balanced and transmitted where needed by National Grid.
Increasing the amount of offshore wind we generate domestically will reduce Britain’s reliance on energy imports and foreign markets, increasing energy security and reducing exposure to fluctating energy prices. By producing electricity within the UK from renewable sources such as offshore wind there is the opportunity to decouple UK electricity prices from the volatility of internationally-traded markets for fossil fuels.
Once operational, Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind will generate renewable electricity equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of over 1.6 million households and will play a critical role in achieving the UK Government’s ambition to deliver 50 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050. Outer Dowsing will displace the equivalent of nearly 2 million tonnes CO2 emissions per year of operations through the generation of renewable electricity. This is also the equivalent of removing over 650,000 petrol cars from the road for the duration of the Project.
Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind is an electricity generator and not a retailer or provider. The electricity generated by ODOW will be transmitted directly into the National Grid 400kv network.
Following years of development and improvement, offshore wind is now one of the cheapest forms of electricity generation in the UK. ODOW expects to sell its power through the UK Government’s Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, a competitive arrangement that fixes the price ODOW will receive for its power. A competitive auction keeps prices low for consumers, whilst a guaranteed price provides predictability for customers and helps reduce the cost of financing for ODOW, keeping downward pressure on prices. The latest CfD auction, held in July 2022, secured the largest ever amount of home-grown, cheap renewable energy for British consumers at record low prices. The cost of electricity from offshore wind projects in this auction was just £37.35 per megawatt hour (MWh) – the lowest cost of all renewable technologies, and significantly cheaper than the prevailing cost of wholesale electricity at that time, which was trading at over £150/MWh for much of 2022 (Source RenewableUK).
Construction and Design
It is currently anticipated that construction will take up to 36 months
Subsequent to the conclusion of a follow up appraisal by National Grid ESO (NGESO) in collaboration with the Transmission Owner, National Grid Electricity Transmission, we are able to confirm that we will no longer pursue the Lincolnshire Node connection option for the Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind project. We will continue development activities at the remaining two potential study areas for the substation location, one in the Surfleet Marsh area (previously referred to as Weston Marsh North) and one in the Weston Marsh area (previously referred to as Weston Marsh South). The assessment methodology used by National Grid ESO considered the four network design objectives used within the Holistic Network Design analysis: economic and efficient, deliverable and operable, minimise environmental impact, minimise community impact.
Outer Dowsing will take the feedback gained in the Phase 2 consultation and work with the transmission owner, National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET), as it carries out further design assessments in the area, to prepare for a consultation in the Autumn to help inform the design for our final consent application.
No new overhead lines (pylons) will be built as part of the project; the cables will instead be buried underground from the landfall at Wolla Bank to the National Grid substation. Any new overhead lines that may be required as part of wider reinforcements of the transmission system will be responsibility of National Grid.
The maximum design envelope has been presented in the Scoping Report which constitutes an 80m wide temporary construction corridor with a 60m wide cable easement.
The highest point of the offshore wind turbine (the blade tip as it rotates) could be up to 403m above the sea (measured to Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT)).
The wind turbines will be more than 33 miles (54km) offshore, therefore only the upper parts of the wind turbines be visible from the shore on a few days of the year. In addition, due to there being existing projects in between Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind and the shore, when viewed from most locations along the coast, the Project will be hidden behind the other wind farms.
Location
The outline offshore cable route and the corresponding onshore grid connection location for ODOW have been determined by National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO) as part of a Holistic Network Design (HND) for all new offshore wind connections. The HND is a new process, introduced as part of the Government’s Offshore Transmission Network Review (OTNR), which has balanced environmental, social and economic costs to determine the optimal connection points for new offshore wind farms. Until such a time that a preferred location is determined by NGESO, ODOW are appraising the two options recommended by NGESO in their July 2022 HND report.
Property Agreements
For any landowner specific questions, please contact our Land Agents, Dalcour Maclaren.
Email: outerdowsing@dalcourmaclaren.com
Land Agent dedicated project phone line: 01623 709291
Ecology
The Project is committed to delivering a positive legacy for local wildlife. It is for this reason that avoiding sensitive environmental receptors has been central to the design of the cable routes and siting of the Onshore Substations. An Environmental Assessment of onshore ecology, including local wildlife and birds, will be undertaken. This includes surveying the area to identify the presence and numbers of species. The Environmental Impact Assessment and supporting Development Consent documents submitted as part of the application will include mitigation measures where required to reduce any potential impacts to non-significant levels. These will be determined based on the species present and the specific requirements for each location. Further to the ES, the Project has also committed to provide biodiversity net gain, meaning that the Project will leave ecological habitats in a better state than before the Project.