UK Approves 480MW Morecambe and 1.5GW Morgan Offshore Wind Transmission Assets Project

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 14, the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero approved the Development Consent Order (DCO) for the joint transmission assets of the Morgan and Morecambe offshore wind projects, granting development consent at the level of a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project for the offshore export cables, landfall facilities, onshore cables, substations, and National Grid connection facilities of the two Irish Sea offshore wind farms. The application was jointly submitted by Morgan Offshore Wind Limited and Morecambe Offshore Windfarm Limited.

The approval does not cover the generating units of the two offshore wind farms themselves, but rather the transmission system jointly advanced by the two projects. The UK Planning Inspectorate disclosed that the consent scope includes offshore export cables, onshore and offshore landfall infrastructure, onshore export cables, the Morgan onshore substation, the Morecambe onshore substation, National Grid connection cables, circuit breaker facilities, and related ancillary works.

The DCO application for the Morgan and Morecambe transmission assets was formally submitted on October 21, 2024, and was accepted for examination on November 18. After the projects completed formal examination in 2025, the examining authority submitted its recommendation report to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on January 29, 2026, and development consent was ultimately granted on September 14.

The Morecambe offshore wind farm has a planned installed capacity of 480MW and is located approximately 30 kilometers off the coast of Lancashire, England, in the eastern Irish Sea. The project's generating assets themselves obtained a DCO on December 1, 2025. With the joint transmission assets now also approved, both major consent regimes—its generating facilities and its onshore grid connection works—have secured development consent.

The Morgan project has a planned capacity of up to approximately 1.5GW, and its wind farm generating assets obtained a DCO as early as August 2025. However, the project's original development arrangements changed in 2026, after which The Crown Estate decided to relaunch the Morgan site to the market and planned to bring in a new developer. The transmission assets approved this time still correspond to the grid connection scheme previously planned jointly by Morgan and Morecambe.

The onshore portion of the joint transmission system is located in Lancashire, with separate Morgan and Morecambe onshore substations planned, continuing via onshore underground cables to connect to the national transmission system in the Penwortham area. The project's previously published plans also included a 400kV grid connection cable corridor, temporary construction sites, and landfall areas within the works scope.

The Morecambe project is currently wholly owned by CI Flagship Fund V under Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, with Copenhagen Offshore Partners responsible for development and subsequent construction management. The project's official timetable indicates that the target for commercial operation remains around 2030; the Morgan project still needs to complete the tender for a new developer and subsequent commercial arrangements.