About the project

Hornsea 3 will deliver green power to more than 3 million UK homes

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From the world’s first to the world’s biggest

 
Ørsted pioneered the world’s first offshore windfarm in Vindeby, Denmark in 1991. Generating just 5 MW, it powered 2,200 Danish homes – and proved that the concept of offshore wind power worked.  

After more than 30 years of innovation, dedication, and hard work leading the industry on its journey to reach commercial scale, we’ve built more wind farms at sea than any other company in the world. Now we’re delivering the world’s single largest offshore wind farm.

Hornsea 3 will have a generating capacity of 2.9 GW – enough green energy to power more than 3 million UK homes. 
 

A major national infrastructure project

Technicians working top of an Ørsted turbine
Hornsea 3 will make a significant contribution toward UK energy security and is a cornerstone of the UK government’s climate and clean energy targets.

Hornsea 3 will deliver up to £8. 5 billion to the local and national economy through supply chain investment and the creation of thousands of high-skilled jobs during both construction and decades of operation and maintenance. 

Located 160 km off the Yorkshire coast and 120 km off the Norfolk coast, it will be managed out of our operations and maintenance hub in Grimsby. 
 
Hornsea 3 will be Ørsted’s third gigawatt-scale project in the Hornsea zone we’ve been developing since 2015. 

It will join its record-breaking sister projects Hornsea 1, which has a capacity of 1.2 GW, and Hornsea 2 with a capacity of 1.3 GW. The two operational projects are capable of generating enough electricity to provide 2.5 million UK homes with green power. 

In addition, we’re developing the Hornsea 4 offshore wind farm which could have a capacity of up to 2.6 GW.
Map showing the offshore location of Hornsea 3

Working collaboratively with the local community

Hornsea 3 facts
Location
Hornsea 3 will be located in the North Sea, approximately 120 km off the Norfolk coast and 160 km off the Yorkshire coast.

Size
Up to 231 offshore wind turbines will be located within a 696 km2 area.

Power output
The wind farm will be capable of generating 2.9 GW of green electricity, enough to meet the average daily needs of over 3.3 million homes.
At Ørsted, we invest in the future of the local communities where we construct and operate our projects through our community benefit funds, partnerships, support for expanding Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education among primary, secondary and university students, as well as apprenticeships and jobs training. 

We’ve launched our Hornsea 3 Community Benefit Fund which commits £7 million (£700,000 every year for the next ten years) to projects developed by and for the benefit of the local community in North Norfolk and areas of Suffolk. 

To support the coexistence of the offshore wind and fishing industries, we’ve also started the Hornsea 3 Fisheries Fund. It will have £20,000 available per year to finance a wide variety of projects in eligible fishing communities across part of the Norfolk coastline. 

We’re actively working with the local communities to ensure we deliver the project in a low-impact way that protects and restores nature both onshore and offshore.

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Project timeline

Find out where we are in the development process of this project.

Hornsea 3 timeline  
December 2023
December 2020
June 2018
May 2018
March 2018
November to December 2017
July to September 2017  
July 2017
March 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2015

Ørsted takes final investment decision on Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm

We’ve committed to building the world’s single largest offshore wind farm, Hornsea 3, which will have a capacity of 2.9 GW, enough green energy to power more than 3.3. million UK homes.

Consent granted
DCO application accepted by the Planning Inspectorate for examination.
Submitted Development Consent Order (DCO) application to the Planning Inspectorate.
Carried out focussed statutory consultation on a number of minor amendments to the onshore route based on further feedback.
Carried out further statutory consultation on some proposed changes in response to feedback.
Carried out statutory consultation on PEIR and third round of Community Consultation Events (Phase 2)
Published Preliminary Environment Information Report (PEIR), presenting the results of initial assessments to inform consultation.
Held second round of Community Consultation Events (Phase 1.B)
Scoping Opinion received from Planning Inspectorate.
Held first round of Community Consultation Events (Phase 1.A)
Published Scoping Report, containing early information about the project and assessments that would be undertaken.
Published Statement of Community Consultation, marking the start of public consultation.
Ørsted acquired the rights to develop the Hornsea Zone with the acquisition of Smart Wind Ltd.

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