UK Energy Minister Martin McCluskey has granted planning consent for RWE’s 1.1GW Five Estuaries offshore wind farm off the coast of East Anglia.
The 79-turbine extension to the 353MW Galloper wind farm is the fifth UK offshore wind project this year to secure consent. It follows permit approvals for RWE’s 1.2GW Rampion 2 in April, the 1.5GW Mona and 1.5GW Morgan projects led by JERA Nex, bp and EnBW in July and August, and CIP’s 480MW Morecambe project earlier this month.
A decision on Five Estuaries had been due by 17 December, after the original 17 September deadline was extended so officials could request and consult on further information, including outstanding environmental management and monitoring concerns raised by Natural England.
The application was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate in March 2024 and was accepted for examination in April. During the Development Consent Order (DCO) examination, evidence included representations from ScottishPower Renewables on measures to mitigate projected wake effects at the neighbouring 960MW East Anglia 2 development.
Five Estuaries is due to connect to National Grid’s East Anglia Connection Node near Lawford in Essex in October 2030.
Project elements such as the landfall location and the onshore export cable corridor have been closely coordinated with RWE and SSE Renewables’ 1GW North Falls project. North Falls has undergone a separate DCO examination and is due to receive a final determination early next year.
The Five Estuaries wind farm was eligible to enter this year’s Allocation Round 7.
