The UK government has issued updated planning guidance confirming that developers of new offshore wind farms will not be required to provide financial compensation for wake effects on neighbouring projects.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said the revised National Policy Statement (NPS) instead places an expectation on project backers to “demonstrate reasonable efforts to mitigate” potential yield losses when seeking planning approval.
Developers will still be required to carry out wake assessments as part of the consenting process and take what officials described as a “good neighbour approach,” according to the government’s response to a consultation on the NPS update held earlier this year.
DESNZ said it chose not to include references to physical mitigation measures because such steps would not be “practical without reducing the output of a proposed offshore wind farm.” The government also dismissed proposals for fixed separation distances between projects, noting that “understanding of wake effects is still developing.”
“The government maintains that wake effects are a commercial matter to be resolved between developers and the planning system is not expected to adjudicate on compensation arrangements,” the department said.
The consultation was launched following a commitment made last December in the Clean Power Action Plan, after a rise in disputes linked to roughly 10 GW of offshore wind capacity in planning.
