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Our portfolio

Offshore wind farm
Offshore wind farm

The UK has one of the world's richest offshore wind resources and a strong pipeline of projects is in development.

We categorise projects according to the stage they have reached in their development life-cycle. There are five distinct, chronological phases: pre-planning, planning, consented, construction and operational.

Projects can also be identified according to the leasing round in which they were established. Rounds 1, 2 and their extensions are now largely under construction or operational. The much larger Round 3 projects are all in the pre-planning or planning stages. A number of these have submitted consenting applications.

For more information please visit: Leasing rounds

The pre-planning phase of a project commences when a developer is awarded a land agreement from us, and runs until they submit an application for development consent.  It includes survey work, impact assessment and stakeholder engagement. In the case of Round 3 Zones, there may also be a period of zone appraisal and planning prior to identification of projects.

The planning stage of a project is the time between submission of an application for development consent, and the granting of these consents.

Once a project is consented, developers undertake more detailed surveys and engineering design for the offshore wind farm. Once contractors and suppliers have been recruited and investment secured, a developer takes a final investment decision, a commitment to finance the construction and operation of the project.

The construction phase of an offshore wind farm stretches from the start of works until the project is fully operational. The main offshore construction activities are the manufacturing and installation of foundations and wind turbines as well as offshore power infrastructure that transports electricity to shore and across the UK. The construction phase concludes with final commissioning, where installed wind turbines are brought into their working power-generating mode.

Once a project is fully constructed and commissioned, it enters into its operational phase.