BP and EnBW win consent for major UK offshore wind farm
British oil major and German utility are developing twin Mona and Morgan arrays in the Irish Sea
BP and EnBW have won consent for a major UK offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea in a boost for the government ahead of its crucial upcoming renewable energy auction.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband has granted development consent to the 1.5GW Mona offshore wind farm, which will feature up to 96 turbines, the government announced today.
British oil major BP and German utility EnBW are developing Mona as a joint venture. They are also developing a twin project, Morgan, for which Miliband is expected to issue a decision on granting development consent by the end of next month.
The developers won the seabed leases for the two projects in a 2021 auction round held by the seabed landlord for England & Wales, The Crown Estate.
The development consent order for Mona means it is now eligible to bid for a Contract for Difference in the government’s pivotal upcoming renewables auction, AR7.
That will be welcome news for the Labour government, which is aiming to deploy 43-50GW of offshore wind by 2030 – a highly ambitious target as there is only around 16GW of installed capacity today.
The approval comes hot on the heels of TotalEnergies and Corio Generation winning consent for a 2GW project off Scotland. With Mona, there are now 14 projects totalling around 12GW of capacity eligible to bid into AR7.
Mona has not had an entirely easy ride through the planning process. Danish developer Orsted has raised objections over wake losses that Mona and Morgan could inflict on its existing assets nearby, warning they pose an existential threat to its Irish Sea fleet.
BP and EnBW also recently pushed back against an “unacceptable” demand from BAE Systems that could see Mona shut down for indefinite periods to avoid interference with radar systems.
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