offshore wind energy

The UK Government has announced that it will use planning reforms to cut approval times for new offshore wind farms from four years to one as part of its British Energy Security Strategy.

An auction of seabed plots for major offshore wind projects around the Scottish coast has netted millions of pounds for the government and opens up the prospect of thousands of new jobs and significant infrastructure development across the country.

Energy secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has granted a development consent order (DCO) for the Norfolk Boreas offshore wind farm, against a recommendation from the Planning Inspectorate.

New offshore wind farms must improve the state of nature and avoid irreparable damage to the environment, insists Natural England.