The Planning Inspectorate has accepted the Development Consent Order (DCO) application for the 1500MW Outer Dowsing offshore wind farm, marking a significant milestone for the project. Located 54 km off the Lincolnshire coast, Outer Dowsing is a collaborative effort between TotalEnergies, Corio Generation, and Gulf Energy Development.
The DCO application covers the development of an offshore wind farm comprising up to 100 turbines, underground cables to transmit power from the landfall site near Anderby Marsh, and a new onshore substation at Surfleet Marsh. The project will connect to existing National Grid overhead transmission lines in the Weston Marsh area.
Outer Dowsing has undergone several rounds of consultation, leading to various design changes to mitigate environmental impacts. These include the use of horizontal directional drilling to avoid sensitive areas, amendments to the onshore cable route, and changes to the offshore boundary to minimize navigation impacts.
Chris Jenner, Outer Dowsing Development Director, expressed gratitude for reaching this milestone, stating, “This milestone marks the culmination of three years of work and it is thanks to the experience on the team and highly engaged communities that we were able to get the project to this stage in this time frame.”
Jenner added, “We are now one step closer to building a 1.5GW wind farm that over its lifetime could result in an injection of over £2bn of UK investment alongside the creation of hundreds of local jobs.”
The project will now enter the examination stage, where a panel of independent inspectors will review the application and make a recommendation to the Secretary of State. Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind will notify consultees and landowners of the acceptance of the submission, allowing them to make representations on the application.
As part of the examination process, stakeholders and the public will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the project, ensuring that all perspectives are considered before a final decision is made.
