The UK government has approved the Morgan Generation offshore wind farm, located in the Irish Sea. The project will have a generational capacity of 1,500 MW. It will be developed by a joint venture of JERA Nex bp and EnBW. The project includes deployment of 96 turbines over 32km off the Fylde coast.
Once operational, the project is expected to supply electricity to about 1.5 million households annually. Moreover, the project is reportedly the second offshore wind project from the UK’s Round 4 leasing round to receive consent. It is also among the quickest projects in the country to move from the lease award stage to official approval.
Additionally, the related Morgan transmission project, which will provide the infrastructure to deliver power from the project to the national grid, is under examination. A decision on its development consent is expected in 2026. Meanwhile, the offshore wind project is expected to begin construction in 2026-27 and is expected to come online in 2030.
REGlobal’s Views: The UK has roughly 16 GW of installed offshore wind capacity and is targeting to reach more than 40 GW by 2030. The country concluded its lease signing for six new projects under the Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4 in January 2023. In addition to the Morgan Generation offshore wind farm, the joint venture of JERA Nex bp and EnBW was awarded the 1.5 GW Mona offshore wind farm as well in this round. Further, process of leasing has already begun under Round 5, with Equinor and Gwynt Glas selected as preferred bidders to take forward two of project sites.
