The first consent approval for offshore wind energy at Dogger Bank in the North Sea has been granted.

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

The work included the most extensive study of an offshore area by a wind energy developer ever undertaken, with more than £60m spent on surveys, the vast majority going to UK-based contractors.

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Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey approved the application for the Dogger Bank Creyke Beck development, which was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate by the Forewind consortium in August last year.

He said: "This is another great boost for Yorkshire and Humberside. This development has the potential to support hundreds of green jobs and power up to 2 million homes.


"Making the most of Britain's home grown energy is creating jobs and businesses in the UK, getting the best deal for consumers and reducing our reliance on foreign imports. Wind power is vital to this plan, with £14.5 billion invested since 2010 into an industry which supports 35,400 jobs."

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 wind farms will be located 131km from the UK coast and will connect into the existing Creyke Beck substation near Cottingham, in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

(CD/JP)