The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has granted development consent for two Dogger Bank South (DBS) offshore wind farms, Dogger Bank South West and Dogger Bank South East, which are planned to have a combined installed capacity of 3 GW.
RWE and Masdar, which acquired a 49 per cent stake in the DBS project in 2024, said on 14 May that they would now conduct detailed final design work and progress procurement decisions with the aim of taking a final investment decision (FID) in 2027.
Proposed to be built over 100 kilometres off the northeast coast of England, DBS West and DBS East secured Contracts for Difference (CfD) through the Allocation Round 7 (AR7) in January at a strike price of GBP 91.20/MWh (around EUR 105.25/MWh).
The two offshore wind farms are planned to have 100 wind turbines each and are expected to be commissioned in 2031 (DBS West) and 2032 (DBS East).
RWE entered into agreements for lease for the DBS projects with the Crown Estate in January 2023 and submitted the application for development consent to the Planning Inspectorate on 12 June 2024. Following an examination period that included statutory consultations, the Planning Inspectorate made recommendations to the Secretary of State on 10 October 2025.
The statutory deadline for the decision on the project was 10 January 2026, but it was later moved to 30 April to allow time to request further information that was not provided for consideration during the examination period and to allow all interested parties to review and comment on such information, the UK Minister for Energy Consumers said in a statement in January.