The North Falls Offshore Wind Farm joint venture between RWE and SSE Renewables has been granted development consent for its 1 GW project by the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DSNEZ).
The approval was issued the same day RWE received consent for its Dogger Bank South project, which the company owns in partnership with Masdar.
“This is a milestone moment for the development of offshore wind in the UK. These projects will provide up to 4 gigawatts of new offshore wind capacity, equivalent to a quarter of the UK’s entire current offshore wind fleet. That’s enough to power over four million homes a year” , said Tara Singh , CEO of RenewableUK.
“These projects will draw in billions of pounds of private investment in vital new clean energy infrastructure and create hundreds of new jobs during their development, construction and operation, as well as fresh opportunities for UK supply chain companies. It’s also good news for hard-pressed billpayers, as every gigawatt of offshore wind we build pushes more expensive gas off our energy system.”
The North Falls offshore wind farm is proposed to be built around 40 kilometres off the East Anglia coast and would extend the southern array of the existing 504 MW Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm.
The Development Consent Order (DCO) allows for the construction of up to 57 wind turbines and up to two offshore substations. According to the developers, with the DCO in, the joint venture will now further refine the design to determine the final installed capacity.
The DCO application was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate on 26 July 2024 and, following an examination period with public consultation, recommendations were made to the Secretary of State on 28 October 2025.