The UK government has pushed back final development consent decisions on two offshore wind projects off eastern England. Ed Miliband set a new deadline of 14 May 2026 for RWE and Masdar’s 3GW Dogger Bank South project and for SSE and RWE’s 1GW North Falls project. The previous statutory decision dates were 28 April 2026 and 30 April 2026.
In Parliament on 26 March 2026, energy minister Martin McCluskey said the change was made because the original deadlines fell within the pre-election period for local elections in England. He said that the period begins on 16 April 2026 and that official guidance advises particular care where an announcement has a specific local or geographical dimension. Elections are scheduled for 7 May 2026.
The same 14 May 2026 deadline also applies to a third determination that had been due on 29 April 2026. That application covers a joint transmission system linked to CIP’s 480MW Morecambe project and the 1.5GW Morgan array in the Irish Sea.