The co-developers of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, SSE and Equinor, have submitted a Scoping Report to the Planning Inspectorate for Dogger Bank D, the fourth phase of the project.
If consented, the 50/50 joint venture would have an installed capacity of up to 2GW and be located about 210km off the northeast coast in the North Sea. The Scoping Report follows National Grid ESO’s publishing of the Transitional Centralised Strategic Network Plan (tCSNP2) in March 2024.
The tCSNP2 included confirmation that Dogger Bank D will connect into Birkhill Wood, a proposed new 400kV substation in Yorkshire that will be built as part of National Grid’s Great Grid Upgrade.
Dogger Bank D, which will build out and maximise capacity from the current Dogger Bank C site, is designated a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) of more than 100MW of generating capacity. As such, it must get an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) before it submits a Development Consent Order (DCO).
The Scoping Report supports a request for an EIA Scoping Opinion from the Planning Inspectorate, which would outline the topics to be assessed in the EIA.
Rob Cussons, project director for Dogger Bank D at SSE Renewables, said: “The Scoping Report is an important milestone for Dogger Bank D and is a key part of the development of an offshore wind farm. The report lays out the scope of the project proposals and identifies key environmental factors. We look forward to receiving a Scoping Opinion from the Planning Inspectorate and input from consultees which will help inform our development proposals.”
The existing 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm was granted development consent in 2015 and is currently under construction across three build-out phases: Dogger Bank A, B and C. Once complete, Dogger Bank will purportedly be the world’s largest offshore wind farm in operation.
Dogger Bank D is working closely with the Crown Estate, who manage the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland to agree the progression of the project. A further round of public consultation on the proposals for the offshore wind farm will take place in Autumn 2024.
When SSE and Equinor announced the project had secured a grid connection (1 March), they also revealed that the option to direct the wind energy produced by Dogger Bank D towards hydrogen production, as publicly consulted on in Autumn 2023, had been retired from the project.
