UK verdict on Orsted Hornsea 4 wind giant delayed anew due to seabird impact questions

Britain's Department of Energy Security & Net Zero pushes back decision on developer's 2.6GW North Sea project with request for 'further information' on likely impacts of construction on native kittiwake, razorbill and gannet populations

A final decision from the UK government on go-ahead of the delayed giant Hornsea 4 offshore wind farm has been put back a further five months, after the newly created Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) decided it needed “further information” of operator Orsted’s plan to “compensate for impacts” on native seabird populations.

A verdict on the key development consent order (DCO) for the 2.6GW North Sea array, which has been beset by project-delaying issues linked to the area’s kittiwake, razorbill, guillemot and gannet flocks, is now promised “no later than 12 July 2023”, said parliamentary under-secretary of state, Lord Callanan.

“This is to enable my department to seek further information from the applicant and to ensure there is sufficient time to allow for consideration of this information by other interested parties,” he said in a letter to parliament.

Among a list of “additional outstanding matters” included in a letter from the DESNZ’s energy infrastructure planning department to the developer were requests for information related to an memorandum of understanding agreed by the developer with the Guernsey and the Alderney wildlife trusts linked to the Flamborough and Filey Coast special protection area.

The department’s deputy director, David Wagstaff, also requested Orsted produce consents and licences for an oil & gas platform repurposing project being undertaken by the developer to create an ‘artificial nesting structure’ near Hornsea 4, which would sprawl over almost 500km2 some 69km off the coast of north-east England.

British renewables advocacy body RenewableUK’s executive director of policy called the decision to postpone the DCO “particularly disappointing as it will now take longer to meet our renewables targets” in the UK.

“This landmark offshore wind project has the potential to supply an enormous 2.6GW of clean electricity to the grid, displacing expensive gas, reducing bills and boosting our energy security,” said Ana Musat.

“At a time when countries like the US and the EU are doubling down on attracting clean energy investment through financial incentives and a stable policy framework, the UK cannot afford to create unnecessary hurdles for investors and developers.

“This decision clearly shows that government needs to reform [the UK’s] cumbersome planning system urgently to ensure that renewable energy projects are not subject to needless delays”, said Musat, noting that “no offshore wind project wind since 2017 has been recommended for approval by the planning inspectorate due to “unclear guidance” to planning authorities.

Orsted has been approached by Recharge for comment on the delay to the Hornsea 4 DCO.

The UK has set the target of having 50GW of offshore wind turning by 2030, but needs to install 4.5GW a year in the latter half of the decade to achieve this goal.

Kittiwakes have in recent years caused a headache for North Sea wind developers that have faced environmental objections to their plans over impacts on the creatures – not least Orsted itself, which saw consent for its 2.4GW Hornsea 3 project delayed while it attempted to come up with a solution that eventually involved a plan to spend £15m ($20.3m) on artificial bird nests.

An industry initiative set up in 2019 with environmental groups to study the sector’s impact on marine birds flagged kittiwakes as “the issue currently posing greatest consent risk” to offshore wind in the area.