The UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero has set a new deadline for the decision on the Development Consent Order (DCO) for Dogger Bank South, a 3 GW offshore wind project developed by RWE, which the company owns in partnership with Masdar.
The statutory deadline for the decision on the project was 10 January 2026. This has now been moved to 30 April.
According to a statement from the Minister for Energy Consumers, Martin McCluskey, the extension will allow time to request further information that was not provided for consideration during the examination period and to give all interested parties the opportunity to review and comment on such information.
“Whilst it is not my preference to extend, I am clear that applications for consent for energy projects submitted under the Planning Act 2008 must meet the necessary standards” , said Minister McCluskey . “The decision to set the new deadline for this application is without prejudice to the decision on whether to grant or refuse development consent.”
The Dogger Bank South (DBS) offshore wind farm will be split across two sites, DBS East and DBS West, located 100-122 kilometres off the northeast coast of England. Each site is planned to house 100 wind turbines for a total of 200 turbines and a combined installed capacity of 3 GW.
RWE entered into agreements for lease for the DBS projects with the Crown Estate in January 2023, with Masdar joining the project at the beginning of 2024 by acquiring a 49 per cent stake .
The UK’s Planning Inspectorate completed its six-month Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) examination period for DBS offshore wind farms in July 2025.
If the project is granted a DCO, the next steps would be to secure Contracts for Difference (CfD), followed by financing, construction, and commissioning. According to information about the project released earlier, commissioning is expected by 2031.