SSE, Equinor Expected to Submit Dogger Bank D DCO Application in Summer 2026

The proposals include plans for offshore infrastructure for renewable electricity generation as well as offshore and onshore infrastructure for transmission of the electricity generated by the wind farm.

Offshore, the wind farm array covers a site of 262 square kilometres with up to 113 fixed-bottom offshore wind turbines . The offshore application also proposes up to two offshore platforms , as well as associated export and inter-array subsea cabling that would export power from Dogger Bank D to the national grid at a landfall point near Skipsea, in East Riding of Yorkshire.

From the Skipsea landfall, underground cables would transmit renewable power along a 55-kilometre route to a new onshore substation being developed by National Grid Electricity Transmission near Cottingham, north of Hull, called Birkhill Wood.

The project is also proposing potential plans to co-locate energy storage and balancing infrastructure at the site of the proposed onshore converter station.

Last year, the SSE-Equinor joint venture and The Crown Estate established commercial terms of a proposed variation of the existing Dogger Bank C seabed lease, within which the developers plan to build Dogger Bank D. Since the fourth Dogger Bank Wind Farm phase would be located within the boundaries of the existing seabed lease area, it was not required to go through a seabed leasing process.

However, the project does require a new Development Consent Order (DCO) to progress into construction and was still subject to the Plan-Level Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) that The Crown Estate is required to undertake before making final decisions under the wider Capacity Increase Programme.

In May this year, the Crown Estate said it was proceeding with its Capacity Increase Programme to maximise the potential of existing offshore wind lease areas to add 4.7 GW of renewable energy by amending existing seabed rights to increase the capacity of seven offshore wind farms located around England and Wales.

The seven projects are Awel y Môr, Dudgeon Extension, Sheringham Shoal Extension, North Falls, Five Estuaries, Rampion 2, and Dogger Bank D .

The first three phases of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm are currently under construction. With an installed capacity of 1.2 GW each, Dogger Bank A, B and C will make up the world’s biggest offshore wind farm with a capacity of 3.6 GW, which would increase to 5.1 GW with Dogger Bank D.

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