Morven Offshore Wind Farm

Morven Offshore Wind Limited has now completed its initial non-statutory consultation about our plans for the onshore and offshore infrastructure in England associated with the Morven Offshore Wind Farm, known as the Morven - Hawthorn Pit Grid Connection

The Morven Offshore Wind Farm is made up of three main parts:

• Morven Wind Farm Array – which is entirely in Scottish Waters consists of turbines and supporting foundations, inter-array cabling and offshore substation platforms.

• Morven – Hawthorn Pit Grid Connection – which is in English and Scottish waters and includes underwater offshore cables, underground onshore cables and a land substation.

• Morven – Branxton Area Grid Connection – this connection point has only recently been identified by National Grid ESO so preliminary site and route optioneering has not yet been undertaken. The Branxton area is located in Scotland.

Taking Part

The aim of our non statutory consultation was to introduce the Morven Offshore Wind Farm project and share our early plans. We sought your views on the onshore and offshore infrastructure associated with the Morven - Hawthorn Pit Grid Connection.

The infrastructure will consist of subsurface offshore and buried onshore electricity cables and a Land Substation.

We will continue to engage with local authorities and parish councils as we refine our proposals and there will be further community consultation, including statutory consultation, ahead of submitting our application for development consent under the Planning Act 2008. 

The Morven project will:

Be located approximately 60km off the coast of Aberdeen. Produce a potential of 2.9GW of offshore wind. Sit in water depths of 64-76 metres. Cover an area of approximately 860km². Have the potential to provide enough electricity for the equivalent of 3 million UK homes.

Why we need offshore wind

Energy security in the UK

Energy security is a priority for the UK Government, ensuring the security of our energy supply this winter, next winter and in the longer term.

Offshore wind, along with other energy sources, is essential to meet both net zero and energy security objectives. In the UK, the Government has committed to ambitious plans that will put the country at the forefront of the fight for a greener future.

The Morven Offshore Wind Farm could contribute to the UK's energy transition plans by:

• Generating low carbon electricity from the offshore wind farm in support of the decarbonisation of the UK's electricity supply.

• Contributing to achieving the aims of the UK's net zero ambitions.

UK Government policies and offshore wind

The commitments the UK has made to achieving net zero are enshrined in law.

These plans recognise the importance of offshore wind in achieving net zero goals in the UK. The UK is already a world leader in offshore wind and the seas around Britain are ideal for harnessing wind power. The UK has ambitions to increase offshore wind capacity to up to 50GW by 2030.

What is net zero?

Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane are created when we burn fossil fuels, such as oil, gas or coal. These gases are trapped in the atmosphere.

Net zero means no longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. One of the best ways to do this is to move towards technologies such as renewable energy, which do not create carbon emissions.

What we’re doing

bp - We are an integrated energy company delivering solutions to customers in over 70 countries around the world. Our ambition is to be a net zero company by 2050 or sooner and to help the world get to net zero. You can find out more by clicking here.

EnBW - At EnBW, our long-term business success is based on the achievement of economic, environmental and social targets. Under our EnBW 2025 strategy, we are transforming into a sustainable and innovative infrastructure provider. We have the ambitious aim of reducing the company’s CO₂ emission to net zero by 2035. You can find out more by clicking here.

Morven transmission infrastructure

The point of interconnection

National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) has given the Morven Offshore Wind Farm a point of interconnection to the electricity transmission network at the existing National Grid Hawthorn Pit substation.

To connect the Morven Offshore Wind Farm to the Hawthorn Pit substation, we will be required to lay cables (onshore and offshore) and construct a land substation.

The Morven land substation

A dedicated substation will need to be constructed to connect the Morven project to the existing Hawthorn Pit substation. The new substation is needed to transform the power generated by the offshore wind turbines.

We are in the process of conducting a thorough site selection process, taking into account factors such as distance from homes, environmental constraints and technical constraints.

We have identified a zone of search in the vicinity of the Hawthorn Pit substation within which we are working to identify a suitable location for the new substation.

We are asking for your feedback on the substation search zone and any information you wish to share about specific uses within the area by the community.

The design, visual appearance and technology to be used as part of the land substation will be developed in the coming months and years. Updated information will be provided as part of future consultations.

Choosing a cable route

The onshore and offshore cables

As part of our early cable route identification work, we have identified broad corridors of search within which we could lay the offshore and onshore cables.

We are asking for your feedback on the broad corridors of search, offshore and onshore.

We are particularly interested in any information you may wish to share on the use of these areas and areas of high value to the wider community.

How do we choose a cable route?

The selection process for the onshore cable corridor route involves the identification of a range of engineering, commercial, environmental, land interest and community related principles and constraints. These are then used to identify potential onshore cable corridors.

Engineering considerations will include aspects such as technical feasibility, for example, ground conditions and water crossings, and the identification of the shortest and most direct route, wherever practicable.

Examples of environmental constraints will include consideration of towns and villages, designated sites, protected species, landscape and cultural heritage considerations.

Other constraints that will also be considered include the location of existing utilities and other local infrastructure.

As a responsible developer, we are committed to selecting the most technically and environmentally suitable cable corridor that takes into account the interests of our host communities and landowners. We will continue to work with communities through direct engagement, and by working with local authorities, town and parish councils. We will plan further engagement and consultation events to understand potential impacts on local people and seek to mitigate and manage these where practicable.

During this process we will also continue to seek feedback from bodies such as local planning authorities, the Marine Management Organisation, Environment Agency and Historic England, as well as, 'non-statutory' voluntary and community organisations to provide us with expert and local knowledge that will inform and help refine our proposals.

Our early work has identified the two broad corridors of search for the cables. These are shown on the maps below.

Environmental Impact Assessment

Environmental Impact Assessment

As a part of the development process, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be undertaken to assess the potential impact of the construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of the Morven Hawthorn Pit project. The EIA is paid for by, and produced on behalf of the developer, but is undertaken by suitably qualified and experienced independent environmental specialists.

The identification and assessment of potential environmental impacts has been, and will continue to be, undertaken in consultation with statutory bodies. These include local planning authorities, the Environment Agency, the Wildlife Trust, Natural England and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and will be specific to the local environmental and social context and baseline.

A Scoping Report for the Morven – Hawthorn Pit Grid Connection will shortly be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate. A Scoping Report provides a summary of the proposed development along with anticipated environmental factors that will be assessed. It will also summarise the assessment methods for each factor.

On receipt of our Scoping Report, the Planning Inspectorate will consult with a wider range of parties including local planning authorities to ask their views on how we intend to assess the environmental impact of the project. A Scoping Opinion will then be provided by the Planning Inspectorate (on behalf of the Secretary of State) for the project.

The Scoping Opinion will collate and incorporate this feedback and advise us on how the EIA should be undertaken.

The project team will review and consider the feedback, which will then form the basis of the more detailed assessments to be provided in a Preliminary Environmental Information Report (PEIR) that will be produced for the application for development consent.

The PEIR will contain any mitigation and management that may have been identified, as a result of the environmental assessments at that stage. Once the PEIR has been prepared, we will undertake statutory consultation, again seeking feedback from statutory consultees, local communities and those with any interest in the land, on our more refined proposals.

We will give you further details as the project progresses.