Ørsted Secures Contracts for Two Major Offshore Wind Farms in the UK

The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has awarded Ørsted Contracts for Difference (CfDs) for a 1,080 MW share of the Hornsea 3 Offshore Wind Farm and a 2,400 MW CfD for Hornsea 4. The contracts were awarded at inflation-indexed strike prices of GBP 54.23 per MWh for Hornsea 3 and GBP 58.87 per MWh for Hornsea 4, based on 2012 prices.

Rasmus Errboe, Deputy CEO and Chief Commercial Officer at Ørsted, expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the allocation round, highlighting the significance of the projects in supplying large-scale renewable power to UK consumers and supporting the government’s goal to reach 60 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. Duncan Clark, Senior Vice President and Head of UK & Ireland at Ørsted, emphasized the need for continued momentum in the sector, asserting that offshore wind remains a critical component of the UK’s energy security and an attractive, low-cost energy solution.

Hornsea 3, set to become the world’s largest offshore wind farm with a capacity of 2,955 MW, is part of Ørsted’s plans to expand its operations in the Hornsea zone. Together with Hornsea 4, these developments will increase the total capacity of Ørsted’s projects in the zone to around 8 GW, enough to power approximately 5 million UK homes.

The CfD contracts for Hornsea 3 run for 15 years and are inflation-indexed. Ørsted will build and manage the wind farms, including transmission assets, which will be divested to new owners upon full commissioning, in line with UK regulations.