The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has granted development consent for the transmission infrastructure associated with the Morgan and Morecambe offshore wind projects in the Irish Sea.
The Development Consent Order (DCO), announced by the Planning Inspectorate on 14 September, covers the offshore and onshore transmission assets for both projects, including offshore export cables, landfall infrastructure, onshore export cables, substations, grid connection cables, circuit-breaker compounds and associated infrastructure.
The application was jointly submitted by Morgan Offshore Wind Limited and Morecambe Offshore Windfarm Limited in October 2024 and was accepted for examination in November that year. Following examination, the Examining Authority submitted its recommendations to the Secretary of State in January 2026.
Morgan is a planned 1.5 GW offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea that was originally being developed by a joint venture between EnBW and JERA Nex BP. The developers discontinued the project in January 2026 after the project failed to secure a Contract for Difference in the UK’s seventh allocation round and the companies determined that it was no longer economically viable under their criteria.
The Crown Estate subsequently decided to bring the Morgan site back to market and launched an accelerated tender process in July. It expects to select a preferred bidder and award development rights by the end of 2026. The Crown Estate said the process would preserve the progress already made on the project, including its existing grid connection agreement.
Morgan secured a DCO for its generation assets in August 2025.
The other project covered by the transmission application, the 480 MW Morecambe offshore wind farm, is being developed by Copenhagen Offshore Partners on behalf of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. It is planned approximately 30 kilometres off the Lancashire coast and is expected to comprise 35 wind turbines.
Morecambe received its generation DCO in December 2025 and entered into lease with the Crown Estate in January 2026.
Morecambe is scheduled to enter construction in 2027.
The Planning Inspectorate said the Morgan and Morecambe transmission application was the 113th energy application it had examined and that the examination and recommendation process was completed within the statutory timescale under the Planning Act 2008.
The six-month examination allowed local communities, local authorities, statutory consultees and other interested parties to submit evidence and views before the Examining Authority made its recommendation to the Secretary of State.