About the developers

The Morgan Offshore Wind Project and the Morecambe Offshore Windfarm are working together on the proposals for the Morgan and Morecambe Offshore Wind Farms: Transmission Assets project, to connect both offshore wind farms to the electricity transmission network.

Morgan Offshore Wind Limited, a joint venture between bp and EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, is developing the Morgan Offshore Wind Project.

About bp

bp has set out an ambition to be a net-zero company by 2050 or sooner, and to help the world get to net zero. bp has set out a strategy for delivering this ambition. bp is focused on delivering its transformation into an integrated energy company, helping to provide the energy the world needs today, and investing in the energy transition.

bp entered the offshore wind sector in 2020 via a partnership with Equinor to develop offshore wind projects in the US, including the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind projects off the East Coast that have a planned potential of 4.4 GW generating capacity. In the UK, bp and partner EnBW are leading the development of the Morgan and Mona offshore wind projects in the Irish Sea and the Morven offshore wind project in the North Sea. These projects have a combined potential generating capacity of 5.9 GW, sufficient to power the equivalent of around 6 million UK households. In early 2023, bp was successful in its bid to develop its first floating offshore wind demonstration project offshore Aberdeenshire.

In July 2023, bp was successful in its bids for two sites offshore in Germany with a potential generating capacity of 4 GW. bp has formed a strategic partnership with Japanese conglomerate Marubeni to explore offshore wind opportunities in Japan. bp has also formed a JV with Norway’s Deep Wind Offshore, a part of which saw bp acquire a 55% stake in the company’s early-stage offshore wind portfolio, which includes four projects across the Korean peninsula with a potential generating capacity of up to 6 GW.

bp already has a significant onshore wind business in the US with a gross generating capacity of 1,700 MW, operating nine wind assets across the country. In the UK, bp have a 50% share in Lightsource bp which aims to develop 10 GW of solar projects by 2023.

bp delivers energy products and services to our customers around the world. Our strategy is to transition to become an integrated energy company across resilient hydrocarbons, mobility and convenience and low carbon energy. We believe bp can help deliver a better, more balanced, energy system that is secure and affordable as well as increasingly lower carbon. bp continues to invest in oil and gas to keep energy flowing to where and when it’s needed today. And to invest in our lower carbon and other transition businesses. For more information visit www.bp.com

About EnBW

EnBW is one of the largest energy supply companies in Germany and supplies electricity, gas, water and energy solutions and energy industry services to around 5.5 million customers with a workforce of more than 27,000 employees. EnBW aims to strengthen its position as a sustainable and innovative infrastructure partner for customers, citizens and local authorities to an even greater extent. The repositioning of EnBW with a focus on renewable energies and smart infrastructure solutions is a key component of its strategy. With a focus on renewable energy and smart infrastructure solutions, EnBW’s objective is for half of the electricity it supplies to be from renewable sources by the end of 2025. This is already having a noticeable effect on the reduction of CO2 emissions, which EnBW aims to halve by 2030 and to be climate neutral by 2035. EnBW has been involved in the operation of hydro power plants in the Black Forest for more than 100 years, and has a large and continuously growing number of onshore wind farms and solar photovoltaics in Germany, France and Sweden. In addition, EnBW developed, constructed and operates four offshore wind farms in Germany (EnBW Baltic 1, Baltic 2, Hohe See and Albatros) with a total installed capacity of 945 MW, commissioned between 2011 and 2020. A further 900 MW offshore wind farm, He Dreiht, is currently under development in Germany.

Morecambe Offshore Windfarm Limited, a joint venture between Cobra and Flotation Energy Limited, is developing the Morecambe Offshore Windfarm.

About Cobra

With 80 years of experience, COBRA is a historically significant Group in the development of industrial infrastructure and service provision, and one of the key players in the renewable energy sector in Spain and Latin America. The Group possesses the capacity and determination to develop, build, and operate industrial and energy infrastructures that demand a high level of service, grounded in excellence in integration, technological innovation, and financial robustness.

Our unrivalled knowledge and understanding of floating offshore wind developments is a significant advantage in delivering a high quality and efficient project, coupled with our commitment to environmental stewardship. Our experience as a major player in offshore wind is based on a 50 MW project in operation and over 11.2 GW under development.

About Flotation Energy

Flotation Energy is based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has been a significant contributor to building a strong offshore wind industry in the UK and beyond.

Flotation Energy has a growing project pipeline, managing 13GW of offshore wind projects in the UK, Ireland, Taiwan, Japan and Australia; and plans to expand into many more key markets. The expertise of the Flotation Energy team lies in the project and engineering management of large infrastructure projects.

Flotation Energy has developed its own projects but also recognises the benefits of collaboration and partnership to deliver proven, cost-effective solutions.

A coordinated approach

The Morgan Offshore Wind Project and the Morecambe Offshore Windfarm were scoped into the Pathway to 2030 workstream of the UK Government’s Offshore Transmission Network Review (“OTNR”).

As part of the OTNR, National Grid assessed options to improve the coordination of offshore wind farm connections and associated transmission networks. In July 2022, the UK Government published the Pathway to 2030 Holistic Network Design Report which set out the results of the OTNR and its proposed approach to connecting 50GW of offshore wind to the UK national grid.

This concluded that the Morgan Offshore Wind Project and the Morecambe Offshore Windfarm should work collaboratively to connect the wind farms to the national grid at Penwortham in Lancashire. The developers (EnBW/bp and Cobra/Flotation Energy) were involved in this process and agree with this conclusion, and as a result are developing the transmission assets associated with each offshore wind farm together.

Why we need offshore wind

When operational, the Morgan and Morecambe offshore wind farms are expected to play a role in the energy transition by delivering a significant volume of offshore wind.

This can support the UK Government’s Net Zero by 2050 target to deliver up to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030.

The UK is a world leader in offshore wind and the surrounding seas are ideal for harnessing wind power. We are aiming for our projects to be operational by 2028/29 at the earliest, helping to decarbonise the UK.

The projects will also play a key role in the energy transition by:

  • Generating low carbon electricity from offshore wind farms in support of the decarbonisation of the UK electricity supply
  • Optimising generation capacity within the constraints of available sites and grid infrastructure
  • Contributing to achieving the aims of the UK’s Energy Security Strategy.

The projects also aim to:

  • Co-exist and collaborate with the other offshore activities, developers and operators to enable the balance of different users
  • Contribute to the local, regional and national economy by providing substantial investment, as well as employment and new infrastructure during all phases of the projects
  • Align with the key drivers in current and planned updates to national policy.

The UK currently generates around 13GW of its power from offshore wind, meaning it plays an increasingly important role in our energy mix. But we need to go a lot further. For the UK to achieve its climate goals, we need to quadruple our offshore wind generation, to reach the UK’s target of deploying 50GW of offshore wind by 2030.