The Development Consent Order (DCO) application of the North Falls Offshore Wind Farm, a 50/50 joint venture between RWE and SSE Renewables, has been accepted for examination by the UK Planning Inspectorate.

The project’s DCO application was submitted in July 2024.

North Falls now moves into the pre-examination phase of the consenting process for major infrastructure projects, with the next phase expected to commence in early 2025.

“We would like to thank those who have engaged and shared feedback with the project. Engagement with local communities, stakeholders and businesses over the last six years, alongside close coordination with the proposed Five Estuaries Offshore Wind Farm, has informed project development and the application we submitted to the Planning Inspectorate”, said Andy Paine, Project Director.

North Falls is a proposed extension to the southern array of the existing 504 MW Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm, a 50/50 joint venture between SSE and RWE, with SSE operating the project on behalf of the joint venture partners.

North Falls’ site will comprise one offshore array area totalling 90 square kilometres and will have a generating capacity of up to 1 GW.

The site previously comprised two offshore array areas totalling approximately 150 square kilometres, but after the project’s 2023 statutory consultation, the decision was made to remove the whole of the northern offshore array area and reduce the size of the remaining southern array.

If consented and approved for delivery, North Falls would support the UK’s target of up to 50 GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030.