Photo credit: Nicholas Doherty
The shareholders behind the 3.6GW Dogger Bank complex have applied to the UK courts for permission to bring a judicial review against the consent granted to a neighbouring offshore wind project. SSE, Equinor and Vargronn have filed papers at the Administrative Court in London, taking a case against Energy Secretary Ed Miliband over the 1.5GW Dogger Bank South scheme developed by RWE and Masdar.
The wake effect dispute
Miliband granted a Development Consent Order for Dogger Bank South in May, after the project secured an Allocation Round 7 contract for difference in January. The under-construction Dogger Bank complex, made up of three 1.2GW phases in the North Sea, sits nearby.
The case centres on wake effects, the reduction in wind speed and energy that one array can cause for another downwind of it. During the permitting process, SSE, Equinor and Vargronn argued that lifetime losses to their A, B and C phases could total between £500 million and £669 million if Dogger Bank South went ahead, which they said posed a material risk to the future viability of the complex. They also claimed the Dogger Bank South developers had not engaged appropriately on the issue.
The developers’ positions
RWE and Masdar disputed that account, arguing they had engaged in the normal way for projects beyond a 7.5km buffer, which they said typically requires minimal engagement. They also argued there is no established practice for wake assessments between different developers.
Miliband’s decision notice sided with neither party entirely. It found the Dogger Bank South sponsors had engaged late and had not reasonably attempted to mitigate wake impacts in line with policy, but granted consent with a condition requiring the developers to limit effects on nearby wind farms through a wake effects plan, including consultation and mitigation before construction. The notice concluded that a condition attached to the DCO was the right mechanism to secure that mitigation.
The grounds for the judicial review have not been disclosed in the filings. An initial hearing is not expected for several weeks because of the courts’ summer break. If permission is granted, the case would proceed to a full hearing. A spokesperson for the Dogger Bank complex said it could not comment on a matter before the courts. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero declined to comment on the detail, but said it remained on track to deliver clean power by 2030 and did not depend on any single project.
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