Offshore Windfarm DCO approved

The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero has granted development consent for the North Falls Offshore Wind Farm, comprising the construction, operation and maintenance, and decommissioning of an offshore wind farm with a generating capacity of c.1 gigawatt located in the southern North Sea, approximately 40 kilometres off the East Anglia coastline.

The Port of London Authority (PLA) argued for the inclusion of protective provisions (PPs) in the DCO on the basis that they are necessary to ensure the efficient functioning and sustainable growth of the Port of London. The Applicant, North Falls Offshore Windfarm Ltd, resisted the inclusion of the PPs sought by the PLA on numerous grounds, including the contention that they would be unnecessary and unprecedented. The Examining Authority (EA) concluded that the case put forward by the PLA in relation to their need to protect their statutory undertakings of operating and maintaining their ports, including their reliance on the deep water routes was “more robust and persuasive” than the Applicant’s case against the inclusion of the provisions, and included the PLA’s PPs in the recommended Order. The SS agreed with the EA’s recommendation.

Robert Walton KC acted for the Port of London Authority.