In a bid to engage the public and gather vital input, a public consultation for the proposed Dogger Bank D wind farm's fourth phase is set to commence. Scheduled to open on Tuesday, September 26, the consultation will span six weeks, concluding on Tuesday, November 7.
The consultation encompasses both in-person events and an online webinar, designed to facilitate comprehensive participation. The Dogger Bank D project team is collaborating closely with the Crown Estate to chart the course of the project's development.
Dogger Bank D, if greenlit for execution, is slated to be situated approximately 210 kilometers off the northeast coast of England in the North Sea. Preliminary estimates suggest that the project has the potential to generate up to around 2 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power.
The project development team is actively exploring diverse avenues to harness the energy produced by Dogger Bank D. Among these possibilities are electrical transmission and hydrogen production. In the context of the public consultation, the proposal outlines two potential sites near Aldbrough and Saltend to host electrolyzer facilities and associated infrastructure.
The invaluable feedback collected during this consultation phase will serve as a guiding compass for the project's further development, as it paves the way for a potential application to the Planning Inspectorate and the Secretary of State for a Development Consent Order, classifying it as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project.
A second phase of consultation is tentatively planned for the summer of 2024. Rob Cussons, Project Manager at Dogger Bank D, expressed anticipation for this engagement with the local community, emphasizing the importance of their insights and ideas in shaping the project's future. He remarked, “We look forward to welcoming the public to our consultation events for Dogger Bank D and for local communities to learn more about our proposals. It's really important that local people have the opportunity to come and talk to the team and share their views with us. We are looking forward to sharing our ideas with local communities and listening to what they have to say.”
