Members of the public invited to have their say on Dogger Bank D Offshore Wind Farm proposals

• Statutory consultation phase launched to enable communities and stakeholders to have their say on project proposals
• Proposals follow extensive environmental studies and feedback received from earlier stages of engagement

Members of the public are being invited to have their say on plans for the Dogger Bank D offshore wind farm project, a proposed fourth phase of the 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm currently in construction.

Dogger Bank D is a proposed project in the North Sea which would be located around 210km off the coast of England. Now, 50:50 joint venture developers SSE Renewables and Equinor are inviting community members and stakeholders to have their say on proposals for the project, as part of a Statutory Consultation.

This round of consultation will outline offshore and onshore proposals for Dogger Bank D as well as outcomes of preliminary environmental assessments.

The proposals include plans for offshore infrastructure for renewable electricity generation as well as offshore and onshore infrastructure for transmission of the electricity generated by the wind farm.

Out at sea, the project proposes an offshore wind farm array covering a site of 262km2 with up to 113 installed offshore wind turbines. Each turbine would be installed on a fixed bottom foundation.

The offshore application also proposes up to two offshore platforms, as well as associated export and inter-array subsea cabling that would export power from the offshore wind farm to Britain’s national grid at a landfall point near Skipsea, in East Riding of Yorkshire.

From the Skipsea landfall, underground cables would transmit renewable power along a 55-kilometre route to an onshore converter station near to a new onshore substation being developed by National Grid Electricity Transmission near Cottingham, north of Hull, called Birkhill Wood.

The project is also proposing potential plans to co-locate Energy Storage and Balancing Infrastructure at the site of the proposed onshore converter station.

These latest proposals for Dogger Bank D follow extensive environmental studies and feedback received from earlier stages of engagement.

The Statutory Consultation opens on Tuesday 10 June and invites the public and interested community parties to get involved with conversations and provide comments on the project proposals.

Feedback from the consultation, which comprises six local in-person events and two online sessions, will be gathered over an eight-week period ahead of the consultation closing on Tuesday 5 August.

Developers SSE Renewables and Equinor will use this feedback to help inform a final application for a Development Consent Order for up to 1.5GW of installed offshore wind capacity at Dogger Bank D.

The delivery of the Dogger Bank D project is subject to it securing a Development Consent Order as well as a final investment decision by partners SSE Renewables and Equinor.

Sophie Large, Senior Project Manager for Dogger Bank D, said:

"We are looking forward to welcoming the public to our consultation events for Dogger Bank D and providing the opportunity for the community to learn more about our proposals. It’s important to us that local communities share their deep knowledge of the region and continue to review, and be informed about, our plans. We’re excited to share more information on our ideas for building on the legacy created through the earlier phases of our ground-breaking offshore renewable energy project.”

Preliminary Environmental Information Report

At this stage of consultation, Dogger Bank D will present a Preliminary Environmental Information Report also known as a PEIR, alongside other consultation materials.  A PEIR is an important stage of the planning process and brings together all the environmental information Dogger Bank D has gathered to date, including setting out the potential environmental effects and proposed mitigations for the project.

A Non-Technical Summary (NTS) of the PEIR highlights the key findings in a clear and accessible format and will be available at events, community access points and upon request.

Statutory Consultation – how to get involved

The consultation opens on Tuesday 10 June and offers the community and interested parties a chance to learn more about the project, ask questions and provide feedback. The project team encourages all feedback during the eight-week consultation phase. Feedback will be accepted until 11.59pm on Tuesday 5 August.

From Tuesday 10 June, all consultation materials including the consultation brochure, maps and feedback forms will be available to view and download at www.doggerbankd.com. Hard copies and alternative versions of consultation documents can also be requested directly from the project team by email or freephone. Alternatively, consultation materials can be viewed or collected from community access points, please check opening hours before visiting.

Six in-person events will be held at the following times and locations:

• Tuesday 24 June
  Skipsea Village Hall, 3pm – 6.30pm.
• Wednesday 25 June
  Leven Sports Hall, 2pm – 7pm.
• Thursday 26 June
  Cottingham Civic Hall, 10am – 2pm, and Walkington Village Hall 3pm – 6pm.
• Friday 27 June
  Toll Gavel Church Hall, Beverley, 10am - 2pm.
• Saturday 28 June
  Beverley Memorial Hall, 10am – 2pm.

For more information on Dogger Bank D, or how to engage with the consultation, please visit www.doggerbankd.com, call the freephone number on 0800 254 5029, or email [email protected].

About SSE Renewables

SSE Renewables is a leading developer and operator of renewable energy generation, focusing on onshore and offshore wind, hydro, solar and battery storage. Part of energy infrastructure company SSE plc, UK-listed in the FTSE100, it is delivering clean power assets to increase SSE’s operational renewable generation capacity from 5GW today to up to 9GW by 2027 as part of a ~£20bn clean energy plan, the five-year Net Zero Acceleration Programme (NZAP) Plus. This includes delivery of the world’s largest offshore wind farm in construction, the 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm. SSE Renewables has a team of over 2,000 renewable energy professionals with a passion for championing clean energy delivery, each based across the markets in which it operates. Its core market focus is on the UK and Ireland, with a growing international presence in carefully selected markets in Continental Europe and Japan.