Final Investment Decision for Largest Offshore Wind Farm

An offshore wind farm
Environment Europe Offshore
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Updated Published

Ørsted announced its Final Investment Decision (FID) on Hornsea 3, the largest single offshore wind farm globally. 

The Danish energy company will now have 3 gigawatt-scale projects. Hornsea 3, which has a capacity of 2.9 gigawatts, will accompany Hornsea 1 (1.2 G) and Hornsea 2 (1.3 GW). 

Hornsea 3 is expected to be completed by the end of 2027. When combined with both Hornsea 1 and 2, the project will form an offshore wind cluster in excess of 5GW. 

All key contracts are ready and in place, according to Ørsted, including their contract for offshore wind turbines with Siemens Gamesa. Located 160km off the coast of Yorkshire, the wind farms aims to provide cost-effective, green energy to approximately 3.3 million UK homes. This contributes to the UK government’s goal of achieving 50GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. 

During construction, the Hornsea 3 will enable up to 5,000 jobs, with approximately 1,200 long operational phase jobs on a permanent contract. 

This significant investment made by Ørsted in the UK’s clean energy infrastructure and subsequent supply chain actively demonstrates their confidence in the UK’s offshore wind market.

The company is already currently operating 12 offshore wind farms in the UK. Hornsea 3 was presented with a Contract for Difference (CfD) at a strike price of GBP_ 37.35 MWh, with 2012 prices. 

Mads Nipper, Ørsted Group President and CEO, said: “Offshore wind is an extremely competitive global market, so we also welcome the attractive policy regime in the UK which has helped secure this investment.”

“We look forward to constructing this landmark project, which will deliver massive amounts of green energy to UK households and businesses and will be a significant addition to the world’s largest offshore wind cluster.”

The next project within Ørsted’s roadmap is the Hornsea 4, which has a potential capacity of up to 2.6 GW and will also be part of the Hornsea zone. This project recently received development consent from the UK government, and is now eligible for future CfD allocations.