Danish energy giant Ørsted has taken final investment decision (FID) on the world’s single largest offshore wind farm.
Hornsea 3 will be Ørsted’s third gigawatt-scale project in the Hornsea zone following Hornsea 1 (1.2 GW) and Hornsea 2 (1.3 GW), which are already being controlled out of Ørsted’s operations and maintenance hub in Grimsby.
Hornsea 3 is located 160 km off the Yorkshire coast. When the wind farm comes online, Ørsted’s Hornsea trio will have a total capacity exceeding 5 GW, making it the world’s largest operating offshore wind zone.
With a capacity of 2.9 GW, Hornsea 3 will produce enough low-cost, renewable electricity to power more than 3.3 million UK homes, making a significant contribution to the UK government’s ambition of having 50 GW offshore wind in operation by 2030 as part of the British Energy Security Strategy.
“By applying our world-leading capabilities within offshore wind innovation, engineering, operations, procurement, and financing, we’ve been able to mature the world’s largest offshore wind project and take final investment decision,” said Mads Nipper, Group President and CEO of Ørsted.
“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.”
The decision for Hornsea 3 comes at a time when soaring costs have caused project cancellations in both the UK and US. Notably, Ørsted itself halted development of two US projects last month due to financial concerns.
Ørsted, who has been recognised on the CDP Climate Change A List as a global leader on climate action, attributes its ability to proceed with Hornsea 3 to securing competitive supply chain prices through contracts agreed upon pre-inflation.
The energy firm is also pushing ahead with the next stage of its development, Hornsea 4, which boasts a potential capacity of up to 2.6 GW. Having secured UK government approval in 2023, Hornsea 4 is now in line for upcoming CfD allocation rounds, a competitive process selecting renewable projects for government support.
Hornsea 3 is expected to be completed around the end of 2027.
