RWE has signed an agreement with the UAE’s clean energy developer, known as Masdar, to develop a 3 gigawatt (GW) wind project off the east coast of England, capable of powering around 3 million homes.

The UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said the agreement included a commitment from the two companies to invest up to 11 billion pounds ($13.9 billion) in the project. The funding commitment between the UAE-state owned and German-based renewable energy firms in what will be the world’s biggest wind farm.

Speaking at a press conference at COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sunak told reporters: “This is a huge boost for UK renewables, creating more jobs, helping to power three million homes and increasing energy security.”

He also said the “world needs to do more to tackle climate change” and called on “major emitters to dramatically accelerate delivery” of their net zero transitions.

Located in shallow waters in the North Sea over 100km from the east coast of England, Dogger Bank South (DBS) consists of two offshore wind projects, each 1.5GW in size.

Credit: RWE

Masdar will acquire a 49% stake in the projects while RWE, with a 51% share, will remain in charge of development, construction and operation throughout the life cycle of the projects.

Masdar joins DBS at a key stage in the projects’ development, as they approach the end of consultation with stakeholders and communities ahead of submitting Development Consent Orders likely in the second quarter of 2024.

Construction could start as early as 2025, the first 800MW of electricity is planned to come online in 2029 with the aim to fully commission the projects by late 2031.

The UK, which is already the world’s second largest offshore wind market after China, is seeking to ramp up its capacity to 50 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 from around 14 GW now, to help meet its climate targets and boost energy security.

Further information from RWE can be read here.