Judicial Review
The developers of the 3.6-gigawatt Dogger Bank offshore wind project have applied for permission to seek a judicial review of the UK government’s approval of the neighbouring 3-gigawatt Dogger Bank South (DBS) development.
This has raised concerns about the potential impact of turbine wake effects on electricity generation.
The holding companies, which represent the three 1.2 GW phases of the Dogger Bank project and are controlled by SSE, Equinor, and Vattenfall, have filed documents with the Administrative Court in London.
They are challenging the Development Consent Order (DCO) that was granted by UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband in May.
The court filings list RWE Renewables UK Dogger Bank South (West) and RWE Renewables UK Dogger Bank South (East) as interested parties in the proceedings.
The grounds for the proposed judicial review have not been disclosed in the court filings. However, it is understood that the dispute centres on the potential wake effects that the planned Dogger Bank South wind farm could have on the nearby Dogger Bank A, B and C projects, which are currently under construction.
During the planning process, the Dogger Bank developers argued that reduced wind speeds caused by neighbouring turbines could result in financial losses totalling between £500 million and £669 million over the lifetime of the three projects.
They claimed that these impacts could pose a significant threat to the long-term commercial viability of the 3.6 GW offshore wind complex.
During the consent process, the developers also argued that the Dogger Bank South project had not adequately addressed the issue of wake effects during stakeholder engagement.
However, RWE and Masdar disputed these claims during the permitting process, stating that the level of engagement was in line with normal industry practice for projects located beyond a 7.5-kilometre buffer distance.
The companies also stated that there is no established industry standard for conducting inter-developer wake effect assessments.
Despite these objections, Miliband approved the project in May. However, in the decision notice, the government stated that the Dogger Bank South developers had engaged with the wake effect issue later than expected, and had not made reasonable efforts to mitigate potential impacts in line with government policy.
The Development Consent Order includes a condition requiring the project developers to prepare a wake effects plan and consult with neighbouring wind farm operators before construction begins, to minimise any potential impact.
The decision notice also states that mitigation measures should not materially reduce the generating capacity of the Dogger Bank South project.
