The UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Kwasi Kwarteng, has granted development consent to ScottishPower Renewables’ East Anglia One North and East Anglia Two offshore wind farms.
East Anglia One North, located 36 kilometres from its nearest point to the Port of Lowestoft, could consist of up to 67 turbines to make up the project’s installed capacity of 800 MW. East Anglia Two, located some 37 kilometres off the Port of Lowestoft, will have a capacity of 900 MW and is planned to comprise 75 wind turbines.
ScottishPower Renewables applied for the Development Consent Order (DCO) for the two projects with the Planning Inspectorate on 25 October 2019, and the applications were accepted for examination the following month.
Following public consultations and examination period, the Planning Inspectorate made recommendations to the Secretary of State on 6 October 2021.
The decision on the development consent applications for East Anglia One North and East Anglia Two offshore wind farms was scheduled to be made by the end of last year; however, the Secretary of State set a new deadline in December 2021, moving the decision date to 31 March 2022.
The two wind farms are part of ScottishPower Renewables’ GBP 6.5 billion (around EUR 7.6 billion) East Anglia Hub project which consists of three offshore wind farms: East Anglia One North, East Anglia Two, and East Anglia Three.
The initial 1,400 MW of power to be generated through the Hub projects via East Anglia Three secured planning consent in 2017.
In February 2021, ScottishPower Renewables selected Siemens Gamesa as the preferred bidder to supply and install 14+ MW wind turbines on East Anglia Hub, which will comprise more than 200 units.
Construction of the East Anglia Hub is expected to start next year, with completion in 2026.