OREANDA-NEWS. February 20, 2015. The first consent order for offshore wind energy at Dogger Bank in the North Sea was granted on Tuesday – making it the largest renewable energy development ever to receive planning consent in the UK.

Dogger Bank Creyke Beck, which has a total generating capacity of 2.4GW, comprises two separate 1.2GW offshore wind farms, each with up to 200 turbines installed across an area of around 500km2.

The consent approval is the result of more than four years of comprehensive assessments, stakeholder consultation and planning by the Forewind consortium, owned equally by energy companies – SSE, RWE, Statkraft and Statoil.

Brian McFarlane, SSE’s Director of Offshore Renewables stated:
“We are delighted that the UK Government has granted consent to Creyke Beck A and B; marking another positive milestone in the development of these offshore wind farms.

"Working with our Forewind project partners Statoil, Statkraft and RWE Innogy, we will assess how best to progress SSE’s involvement in the Dogger Bank projects over the coming months, taking into account all of the regulatory and commercial issues that have to be considered.”