SSE and Equinor finalise seabed lease to progress Dogger Bank D

This marks the latest important milestone in the development of a proposed fourth phase of the world’s largest offshore wind farm, the 3.6 GW Dogger Bank wind farm, currently in construction off the coast of England in the North Sea.

The lease allows Dogger Bank D’s 50:50 joint venture shareholders, SSE Renewables and Equinor, to maximise the potential renewable electricity generation capacity from the eastern portion of the existing Dogger Bank C seabed lease area, located around 210 km off the Yorkshire coast.

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

A fourth phase has the future potential to unlock an additional 1.5 GW in renewable electricity capacity at Dogger Bank for Britain’s energy system and would make the world’s biggest offshore wind farm even bigger.

Developers, SSE Renewables and Equinor, previou sly established terms for Dogger Bank D with The Crown Estate in July 2024. Implementation of these commercial terms was subject to the conclusion earlier in 2025 of the plan-Level Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) associated with The Crown Estate’s wider Capacity Increase Programme. Dogger Bank D will work collaboratively with The Crown Estate and other stakeholders to deliver the environmental compensation and mitigation required by the lease.

The Dogger Bank D project recently concluded its eight-week statutory consultation during which project proposals were presented to the public. These include plans for up to 113 installed offshore wind turbines on fixed bottom foundations as well as up to two offshore substation platforms at the 262 km² seabed site. Also proposed is associated export and inter-array subsea cabling connecting with onshore infrastructure in East Riding of Yorkshire for transmission of the electricity generated by the wind farm to Britain’s national grid.

Steve Wilson, Director of Offshore Development and Construction, SSE Renewables, responded: “We’re delighted to have finalised an amendment to the existing Dogger Bank C seabed lease agreement with The Crown Estate to unlock additional clean energy potential from the site’s existing seabed lease. In amending the lease in this innovative way, we’ve taken significant strides to progress Dogger Bank D as a proposed fourth phase of the world’s largest offshore wind farm in construction. Concluding this process is testament to the shared innovation of shareholders, SSE and Equinor, along with The Crown Estate to enable a framework that allows us to increase the generation capacity potential of the site. We look forward to continuing Dogger Bank D’s progression as a nationally significant offshore wind project for the UK and building on our vision to the make the world’s biggest offshore wind farm even bigger.”

Melissa Read, Head of Regional Development – UK Renewables, Equinor, added: “Reaching this milestone for the Dogger Bank D development provides future opportunity to unlock more value and volume from the world’s largest offshore wind farm whilst building on our expertise and presence in the North East of England. The UK is a core strategic market for Equinor, and Dogger Bank D demonstrates how there is the potential to further develop our future UK portfolio by having the opportunity to increase future value from quality existing assets. We look forward to maturing the project further with SSE and continue to support the UK’s offshore wind and net zero ambitions.”

Gus Jaspert CMG, Managing Director, Marine at The Crown Estate, concluded: “As one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms in construction, Dogger Bank showcases the UK’s global position in deploying this vital technology to deliver clean and secure energy for millions of people. This new approach to increase capacity on the existing wind farm site that The Crown Estate has agreed with Equinor and SSE, through Dogger Bank D, will enable more communities to benefit from the energy it creates and the jobs it supports. As with all developments, we carefully consider the important responsibility to balance the needs of energy and nature and have embedded environmental compensation measures agreed by the Secretary of State for Energy Security & Net Zero into our leasing for this wind farm. As development of our leading Marine Delivery Route map continues, this collaborative approach will support future prioritisation decisions and avoid nature impacts as much as possible.”

Dogger Bank D is one of seven UK offshore wind farm projects with existing seabed leasing agreements that have been identified for potential generating capacity increases as part of The Crown Estate’s Capacity Increase Programme to unlock up to 4.7 GW of potential new green electricity production.

A statutory consultation with community members in East Riding of Yorkshire and with stakeholders recently concluded on the offshore and onshore proposals for Dogger Bank D as well as on the outcomes of preliminary environmental assessments. Feedback from this consultation process will help inform the development of a final application for a Development Consent Order which is expected to be submitted by SSE Renewables and Equinor to the Planning Inspectorate in due course.

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