The owners of Dogger Bank Wind Farm have launched a legal challenge against the UK government’s approval of the nearby Dogger Bank South project, raising uncertainty around one of the country’s biggest planned offshore wind developments.
SSE, Equinor, and Vargronn filed a judicial review claim over the consent granted to RWE and Masdar. The move could slow progress on Dogger Bank South, which sits close to the 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm, now nearing completion of its first phase.
The dispute centres on the so-called wake effect, where turbines in one project can reduce wind speed and output for another nearby project. Dogger Bank’s owners had already argued during the consent process that adding more turbines in the area could affect performance and hurt the economics of the existing wind farm.
With costs rising and supply chains still under strain, developers are increasingly sensitive to anything that could weaken returns over a project’s lifespan.
A Dogger Bank South spokesperson told Bloomberg that a judicial review challenge had been lodged against the consent process. RWE explained to the media outlet that the project had received approval after a rigorous and transparent assessment and that it remains focused on delivering the farm.
Under UK law, a judge must first decide whether permission should be granted for the case to proceed. If it does, the court will consider the evidence and decide whether the government was wrong to approve the project.
A bill passed last year limited the use of judicial reviews, but the Dogger Bank case shows the process can still create significant uncertainty for offshore wind developers.