UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has postponed a consent decision on RWE and Masdar’s 3GW Dogger Bank South wind farm off north-east England.
A final determination on the Development Consent Order application had been due by this weekend (10 January).
Energy Minister Martin McCluskey announced in parliament today (7 January) the deadline has now been reset to 30 April.
He said this is to allow officials sufficient time to request and consult on further information that was not provided for consideration during the examination period.
McCluskey added: “While it is not my preference to extend, I am clear that applications for consent for energy projects submitted under the Planning Act 2008 must meet the necessary standards.”
A spokesperson for RWE said the developers were “disappointed” at the Energy Secretary’s decision to delay a consent decision.
They added: “The partners will continue to work with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and relevant stakeholders to provide any information required to progress the projects, which have the potential to power around three million homes and support thousands of jobs.
“We remain committed to supporting the energy transformation in the UK.”
The 200-turbine scheme has a grid connection at the National Grid’s proposed Creyke Beck substation near Cottingham and is expected to be fully commissioned by 2031.
The project was eligible to enter Allocation Round 7.