Ørsted has taken final investment decision on the world’s single largest offshore wind farm, Hornsea 3, which will have a capacity of 2.9GW, and it is a green light.

Located 160 km off the Yorkshire coast, the farm is expected to be completed around the end of 2027. Hornsea 3 will be Ørsted’s third gigawatt-scale project in the Hornsea zone following Hornsea 1 (1.2GW) and Hornsea 2 (1.3GW), and when the wind farm comes online, Ørsted’s Hornsea trio will have a total capacity of in excess of 5GW, making it the world’s largest operating offshore wind zone.

The Hornsea zone will also include Ørsted’s Hornsea 4 project, which could have a capacity of up to 2.6GW. Hornsea 4 received its development consent order from the Government earlier in 2023 and is now eligible for forthcoming CfD allocation rounds.

Mads Nipper, group president and CEO of Ørsted, said: “Offshore wind is an extremely competitive global market, so we also welcome the attractive policy regime in the UK which has helped secure this investment. We look forward to constructing this landmark project, which will deliver massive amounts of green energy to UK households and businesses and will be a significant addition to the world’s largest offshore wind cluster.”

Hornsea 3 has already received agreement for Siemens Gamesa SG 14-236 DD offshore wind turbines, and most of the capital expenditure for Hornsea 3 was contracted ahead of recent inflationary pressures. Ørsted has already announced a series of significant supplier contracts – including an agreement for Hornsea 3 to be the first and lead customer at SeAH Wind’s monopile factory in Teesside, underpinning SeAH’s investment decision to establish a new, globally competitive monopile factory in the UK.

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