Following the UK Government’s consent given for Forewind’s Dogger Bank offshore wind farm in the North Sea, law firm Eversheds has announced that it successfully advised the Forewind consortium on the largest renewable energy development ever to receive planning consent in the UK.
The consent is the result of more than four years of comprehensive assessments, stakeholder consultation and planning by the Forewind consortium, a joint venture formed by SSE Renewables Developments (UK) Limited, a subsidiary of Scottish and Southern Energy plc, RWE Npower Renewables, the UK subsidiary of RWE Innogy, and two of Norway’s largest companies, Statkraft and Statoil.
The project involved ground-breaking technical work and analysis at an environment and policy level, particularly in relation to the offshore elements. Eversheds parliamentary agents developed innovative solutions to the structuring of the consent documentation which resulted in the consenting of two major projects in a single Order. This gave Forewind a flexible and deliverable development vital to the UK achieving its renewable energy generation targets and creating a secure energy supply.
The wind farms will be located 131 kilometres from the UK coast and will connect into the existing Creyke Beck substation near Cottingham, in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
The Eversheds team was led by partner Paul Maile working alongside partner James Trafford, and partners Marcus Trinick and Stephen Collings.
Image: Forewind