North Falls offshore wind farm DCO application accepted for examination by UK Planning Inspectorate

SSE Renewables has announced that the development consent order (DCO) application for the North Falls offshore wind farm has been accepted for examination by the UK’s Planning Inspectorate. North Falls is a joint venture between RWE Offshore Wind and SSE Renewables.

The DCO application, submitted in July 2024, moves the project into the pre-examination phase, with the formal examination set to begin in early 2025. North Falls is a proposed extension to the Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm’s southern array, which currently has a capacity of 504 MW. The North Falls site covers 90km² and is planned to have a generating capacity of 1 GW.

Originally, the project proposal included two offshore array areas totalling 150km². However, after the 2023 statutory consultation, North Falls opted to eliminate the northern offshore array area and reduce the size of the southern array.

The development of North Falls will contribute to the UK government’s target of achieving up to 50 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, supporting the country’s decarbonization goals and broader global climate change efforts.

The examination phase of the DCO process is expected to last up to six months, followed by three months for the Examining Authority to present their recommendations to the Secretary of State. The final decision on the project will be made by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero within another three months.