The secretary of state has granted development consent for the Mona offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea. The 1.5GW wind farm is expected to be operational by 2030.
The site owner, a partnership of BP and German utility EnBW have agreements for two 60-year leases, Mona and Morgan, in the Irish Sea 22-37km from the coast, awarded by The Crown Estate in its ‘Round 4’ allocation. They have a third site, Morven, in the North Sea 60km off the coast of Aberdeen. The site developers said Mona is the first project from the UK’s Round 4 leasing round to secure consent, progressing from lease award to approval faster than any other UK offshore wind farm.
Sarah Pirie, Programme Director, EnBW said “We will now advance supply chain engagement across multiple engineering and construction scopes.”
Mark Hudson, Programme Director, BP, said, “We are grateful to all those who have contributed to the project to date, whose valuable feedback and dialogue has been instrumental in refining our proposals. As we proceed to review the Development Consent Order, we will continue to engage closely with stakeholders and local communities to support the successful delivery of the project and to help maximise its economic benefits for North Wales and the wider UK economy.”