Deal Worth £12bn Announced To Build Offshore Wind Farms
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A £12bn deal to construct wind farms has been described by Prime Minister Andy Burnham as “a vote of confidence for building in Britain”.
These two paragraphs add more details.
Energy company RWE and investment firm KKR have announced the funding, which will deliver the Vanguard West and Vanguard East offshore wind farms off the Norfolk coast.
The wind farms are expected to be fully commissioned in 2030, with offshore construction scheduled to begin in early 2027.
These two paragraphs give Andy Burnham’s view.
“It is great news for billpayers because every turbine we put up is power under British control, not at the mercy of events on the other side of the world,” added Burnham, as he prepared to head to the Cop31 climate summit.
“With coastal communities from Scotland to East Anglia powering Britain’s future, the places that host this energy benefit from the jobs and opportunities that it brings,” he added.
But I’m not sure that all the small print has been disclosed yet.
These are my thoughts.
Germany’s Energy Problems
Germany’s energy problems are that they don’t have enough energy and in particular the don’t have enough green energy.
- Twenty percent of their electricity comes from coal.
- Some of that is even the ultra-filthy brown coal.
- They have closed down all their nuclear stations.
- In 2025, they imported 22 TWh of electricity.
But they do make good electrical generators, wind turbines and other electrical equipment.
This map shows the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) around the UK.
Note.
- The UK EEZ is shown in light blue.
- The Irish EEZ is shown in mauve and marked IE.
- The small German EEZ is marked DE.
- Undoubtedly, the rules by which EEZs were drawn, favoured the UK, and countries like Belgium and Germany didn’t do as well.
- The area of the UK’s European EEZ is twenty-three times that of Germany’s whole EEZ, which also includes an area of the Baltic Sea.
- Belgium doesn’t do well compared to The Netherlands.
- There is a substantial area between the UK and Ireland, which can deliver energy to where it is worth more.
- Great Britain and Ireland are surrounded by a large area, that must be worth developing.
- There is a convenient corridor, that runs North-West from the German EEZ to the UK EEZ, which could be used to deliver energy to Germany.
Didn’t the UK (and the Irish) do well!
But the Germans are running out of space to put new offshore wind farms, in their small EEZ.
The Two-Pronged German Solution
The first part of their solution, is to create a gas network called H2ercules that will bring hydrogen to any power station and industry, that needs it from the deep-water port of Wilhelmshaven in North-West Germany, where they would import or generate the gas.
Their first plan to bring green hydrogen to Germany, by creating it in the Namibian deserts using solar panels and wind turbines. It would then be transported to Germany as green ammonia in tanker ships and then converted back to hydrogen.
Unsurprisingly, it never got very far.
Finally, they settled on AquaVentus, which is a system of pipes and wires, that uses wind power in the North Sea to create green electricity, which can also be turned into green hydrogen, which is then brought to Wilhelmshaven in Germany to feed H2ercules.
AquaVentus has planned legs to Denmark, Norway and The Netherlands, and North-East Scotland and Humberside in the UK.
In countries like Denmark, Norway and the UK, we will use AquaVentus to send our surplus electricity to Germany.
The Location Of The Norfolk Wind Farms
This map from RWE shows the Norfolk wind farms.
Note.
- The Norfolk Zone consists of three wind farms; Norfolk Vanguard West, Norfolk Boreas and Norfolk Vanguard East.
- The three wind farms are 1.4 GW fixed-foundation wind farms.
- In Vattenfall Selects Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone O&M Base, I describe how the Port of Great Yarmouth had been selected as the O & M base.
- Great Yarmouth and nearby Lowestoft are both ports, with a long history of supporting shipbuilding and offshore engineering.
- Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft both have a good rail connection to London.
- The Sizewell nuclear power complex is a few miles down the cost just North of Aldeburgh.
- Sizewell C is using hydrogen to minimise the carbon dioxide emissions from construction.
From my knowledge of the area and tales from bringing home North Sea Oil and Gas, I would feel, that the three Norfolk projects wouldn’t be the most difficult of large wind projects to undertake.
The Location Of Wilhelmshaven
This Google Map shows the location of Wilhelmshaven in North-West Germany.
Note.
- Bremen is in the South-East corner of the map.
- Bremerhaven is to the North of Bremen.
- Hamburg is off the map to the East.
- Note the islands along the coast, which feature in the Riddle of the Sands.
- Groningen in The Netherlands is in the South-West corner of the map.
Wilhelmshaven is picked out in red.
This larger map shows the sea and coasts between Hull and Bremen.
Note.
- Bremen and Bremerhaven are in the North-East corner of the map.
- Wilhelmshaven is a dozen miles West of Bremerhaven.
- The red arrow to the North of Norwich on the Norfolk Coast is where the Norfolk Vanguard cables will make landfall at Happisburg.
- Norfolk Boreas cables will make landfall at South Happisburg.
- Hull is in the North-West corner of the map.
From the map, it does appear to me, that the a cable between Humberside and Wilhelmshaven could possibly be routed via the Norfolk wind farms.
Connecting The Norfolk Boreas and Vanguard Wind Farms To The Grid
Google AI gave me this answer.
The Norfolk Boreas and Norfolk Vanguard offshore wind farms (owned and developed by RWE after acquiring the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone from Vattenfall) connect to the UK National Grid via a major High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission system:
Landfall Point: Power comes ashore via subsea export cables at Happisburgh on the coast of North Norfolk.
Onshore Cable Route: Electricity is transmitted inland through a 60 km underground cable corridor running across three local authority areas (North Norfolk, Broadland, and Breckland District Councils).
Grid Connection Substation: The underground cables lead to an onshore converter and substation infrastructure adjacent to the Necton substation in Breckland, where it ties into the UK’s National Grid.
Technology & Ownership: The projects use HVDC technology for long-distance transport to minimize environmental and visual impact on the Norfolk countryside compared to overhead lines, backed by multi-billion-pound funding agreements involving RWE and the National Wealth Fund.
My only worry, is will the Norfolk Nimbys allow the 60 km. underground cable to be built?
What Is An Offshore Hybrid Asset?
Google AI defines an Offshore Hybrid Asset like this.
An Offshore Hybrid Asset (OHA)—formerly known as a Multi-Purpose Interconnector (MPI)—is a dual-function subsea power infrastructure that combines offshore wind farm transmission with cross-border electricity interconnection.
How They Work
Instead of individual wind farms building separate dedicated cables to the shore, and countries running point-to-point interconnectors separately, an OHA merges both functions.
Key Examples of Offshore Hybrid Assets
LionLink: A first-of-its-kind OHA project connecting Dutch offshore wind farms (via the TenneT Nederwiek 3 platform) to the Great British grid (landing in Suffolk), providing up to 1.8–2 GW of clean electricity and cross-border trade between the UK and the Netherlands.
Nautilus: A project connecting Belgian offshore wind generators—including links routed via Princess Elisabeth Island (PEI) and the Modular Offshore Grid 2 (MOG2)—to the Great British grid (landing at the Isle of Grain in Kent), delivering up to 1.4 GW of shared wind and interconnector capacity between the UK and Belgium.
Other Integrated Marine Concepts: In a broader renewable context, hybrid marine prototypes combine diverse sources like floating offshore wind with marine solar, or pair ocean wave energy converters with offshore storage and green hydrogen production.
I can see Offshore Hybrid Assets, developed extensively in the future.
GriffinLink
In February 2026, in National Grid, TenneT Germany Launch GriffinLink, A First Of A Find Project To Maximise Offshore Wind, I introduced GriffinLink which was being proposed as a Multi-Purpose Interconnector between the UK and Germany.
Consider.
- The Germans are building electrolyser capacity at Wilhelmshaven in North-West Germany of up to 1 GW.
- I estimate that from Norfolk Boreas wind farm to Wilhelmshaven is 230 miles.
- The Langeled pipeline is a 725 miles between Norway and UK.
- The Viking Link is a 475 mile electrical interconnector between Denmark and the UK.
- Neuconnect is a 460 mile interconnector between the Isle of Grain and Wilhelmshaven.
I believe that despite the distances involved, that the GriffinLink could be an Offshore Hybrid Asset between Happisburg in Norfolk and Wilhelmshaven in Germany.
- It would connect to the three Norfolk wind farms.
- There would be 230 mile electrical connection to Wilhelmshaven.
- There would be 45 mile electrical connection to Happisburg.
- If both electrical connections were 2 GW, then if the three wind farms were at the full total output of 4.1 GW, there would almost be enough capacity to keep all wind farms generating at full capacity.
- It is known that RWE are developing offshore electrolysis and any spare electricity generated in the Norfolk wind farms could be used to create hydrogen.
- Any hydrogen would be stored or sent to Wilhelmshaven in a pipeline.
But Vanguard West and East would be fully operational until 2030, so Germany would have a couple of years of slack in which to build the hydrogen generation, storage and transfer infrastructure.
In What Are Offshore Hybrid Assets?, I describe the concept.
- It would allow hydrogen and electricity to be sent as required to Norfolk or Germany.
- Infrastructure in the two countries could be sized appropriately.
- Hydrogen could be generated offshore
- I believe that batteries could be placed offshore with the wind farm.
- More wind farms could be added.
I can see Offshore Hybrid Assets, developed extensively in the future.
JERA Nex BP, EnBW Submit Morven Offshore Wind Farm Application
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
A joint venture between JERA Nex BP and EnBW has submitted Section 36 consent applications for the Morven offshore wind farm to the Scottish government
These two paragraphs add a few details.
The developer secured the seabed rights for the Morven offshore wind farm as a single project in the ScotWind Leasing Round in 2022 and split it into two separate projects during the early development phase.
Located around 60 kilometres off the coast of Aberdeenshire at its closest point, the site is planned to house Morven North and Morven South, which would have a combined installed capacity of up to 3 GW and around 190 wind turbines in total.
Morven Offshore Wind Farm now has a comprehensive web site.
The web site says that the electricity will be brought ashore at Hawthorn Pit.
This Google Map shows the location of Hawthorn Pit.
Note.
- Hawthorn Pit is indicated by the red arrow.
- Sunderland is at the top of the map on the coast.
- Aura Power has already obtained planning permission for Hawthorn Pit solar farm, which will be up to 49.9 MW.
- Zenobe are developing a battery-energy-storage-system(BESS) 1.5 km to the South-East of the new Hawthorn Pit substation, which will have an output of 300 MW. Sloppily, there is no detail on capacity, but Google AI indicates, it is a 300 MW/600 MWh battery.
- Hawthorn Pit substation is also the expected to be the Southern end of Eastern Green Link 1, which will help to bring Scottish wind power to England, which will be a 2 GW undersea interconnector to Torness.
In Murphy Starts Work On £2.5bn Eastern Green Link 1, I detail the start of building of Eastern Green Link 1 and say it should be operational by 2029.
When Is The Morven Offshore Wind Farm Expected To Be Commissioned?
I asked Google AI the question above and received this answer.
The 2.9 GW Morven offshore wind farm is expected to be fully commissioned and operational between 2031 and 2035, with initial grid connections and power export potentially starting as early as 2030.
The timeline for full deployment of the Morven Offshore Wind Farm remains somewhat flexible as it depends on final planning approvals and connection offers from the National Energy System Operator (NESO).
The Cables For The Morven Offshore Wind Farm And Eastern Green Link 1
This map clipped from the Morven Offshore Wind Farm web site, shows the locations of Aberdeen, Hawthorn Pit and the Morven Offshore Wind Farm.
Note.
- The location of the Morven wind array was first mentioned in June 2020, as part of ScotWind by Crown Estate Scotland.
- The development of Eastern Green Link 1 was first mentioned in May 2021, by National Grid.
- Torness is to the East of Edinburgh.
- Eastern Green Link 1 connects Torness and Hawthorn Pit.
- the Morven wind array connects to England at Hawthorn Pit.
Over the last few years National Grid and other companies have been developing a technique called offshore hybrid assets, which I describe in What Are Offshore Hybrid Assets?.
An offshore hybrid asset typically connects two countries via a large offshore wind farm, which can then send electricity to both countries.
In a traditional design, there would need to be.
- A 2 GW cable between Torness and Hawthorn Pit.
- A 2.9 GW cable between Morven and Hawthorn Pit.
In the Offshore Hybrid Asset design, there would need to be.
- A 2 GW cable between Torness and Morven
- A 2.9 GW cable between Morven and Hawthorn Pit.
I suspect cable would be saved.
This map shows the position of each ScotWind Leasing wind farm.
Note.
- The numbers are Scotwind’s lease number in their documents.
- Morven is ScotWind lease number 1.
- Eastern Green Link 1 is one of four interconnectors down the East Coast of the UK.
- I have added up the ScotWind lease numbers 1-6 and they total 10.5 GW.
That would be a lot of power to capture just by converting the four Eastern Green Link interconnectors into offshore hybrid assets.
How Will Aquaventus Connect To Aberdeen?
This is RWE’s description of AquaVentus, which is sub-titled Hydrogen Production In The North Sea.
Hydrogen is considered the great hope of decarbonisation in all sectors that cannot be electrified, e.g. industrial manufacturing, aviation and shipping. Massive investments in the expansion of renewable energy are needed to enable carbon-neutral hydrogen production. After all, wind, solar and hydroelectric power form the basis of climate-friendly hydrogen.
In its quest for climate-friendly hydrogen production, the AquaVentus initiative has set its sights on one renewable energy generation technology: offshore wind. The initiative aims to use electricity from offshore wind farms to operate electrolysers also installed at sea on an industrial scale. Plans envisage setting up electrolysis units in the North Sea with a total capacity of 10 gigawatts, enough to produce 1 million metric tons of green hydrogen.
RWE have also put this AquaVentus video on their web site.
Note, that in the video AquaVentus connects Germany to Denmark, Norway, The Netherlands and Aberdeen and Humberside in the UK.
I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this section, and received this answer.
AquaVentus connects to Aberdeen through a strategic infrastructure partnership with Hydrogen Scotland. The two organizations are integrating offshore wind power, offshore electrolysis, and a shared cross-border pipeline to link Scottish renewable generation with European industrial markets.
The connection strategy relies on a multi-stage approach across the North Sea:
Offshore Production & Transmission: AquaVentus aims to produce green hydrogen directly offshore. It will be transported via a pan-European pipeline network—such as the planned 400 km AquaDuctus to link offshore hubs with both the UK and mainland Europe.
Scottish-German Export Corridor: Building on previous research like the Scot2Ger study, this pipeline corridor directly connects Scotland’s abundant offshore wind resources to European demand, establishing Aberdeen as a critical origin node.
Integrated Energy Backbone: The initiative champions hybrid connection concepts (combining both power cables and hydrogen pipelines). This allows for maximum flexibility when integrating Aberdeen’s local onshore hydrogen infrastructure with broader transnational energy grids.
I will now ask Google AI some supplementary questions about AquaVentus in UK waters.
“Will AquaVentus Produce Hydrogen In UK Waters?”
Google AI gave this reply.
Yes, AquaVentus plans to produce green hydrogen in UK waters. The German-led consortium has partnered with Hydrogen Scotland to harness Scotland’s offshore wind potential for large-scale, cross-border hydrogen production and export.
Key Details of the UK-German Initiative
Production Scale: The initiative aims to install 10 gigawatts (GW) of offshore electrolysis capacity in the North Sea by 2035, producing up to 1 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen annually.
The “Pipes and Wires” Model: Offshore wind parks will be equipped with hybrid connection concepts, providing the flexibility to either send electricity directly to the grid or convert it into hydrogen via offshore electrolysers.
Transportation: The produced hydrogen will be transported to land via a shared transnational subsea pipeline corridor, linking Scottish resources to Germany and mainland Europe.The partnership is specifically aimed at creating a North Sea hydrogen corridor to boost energy security and build the foundational European Hydrogen Backbone.
“Will AquaVentus Land Hydrogen In Scotland?”
Google AI gave this reply.
Yes, the German-led AquaVentus initiative plans to land green hydrogen in Scotland as part of a coordinated North Sea energy corridor.
The cross-border initiative involves the following components:
The Pipeline Connection: A key part of the plan is the AquaDuctus offshore subsea pipeline, designed to collect green hydrogen produced from central North Sea wind farms and land it on the coast.
Scottish Partnership: Hydrogen Scotland and AquaVentus have formalized a Memorandum of Understanding to combine Scotland’s massive offshore wind potential with German infrastructure and electrolysis expertise.
Export Ambitions: Scotland aims to produce up to 3.3 Mt of green hydrogen per year by 2045, heavily relying on pipelines and networks to export this to mainland European hubs like Germany.
Offshore Facilities: The broader initiative plans to install 10 GW of offshore electrolysis capacity in the North Sea to produce up to 1 million tonnes of hydrogen annually.
Note that Google AI has told me that a Megatonne of hydrogen is currently worth around £2.5-5 billion.
“Will AquaVentus Connect To Any Of The ScotWind Leasing Wind Farms?”
Google AI gave this reply.
Yes, AquaVentus plans to link Scottish offshore wind resources (including ScotWind farms) to mainland Europe. Through an agreement with Hydrogen Scotland, AquaVentus intends to utilize hybrid “pipes and wires” infrastructure to transmit power or convert it into green hydrogen for direct pipeline transport.
The partnership serves several strategic goals:
The “Pipes & Wires” Concept: Wind farms built under the ScotWind leasing round will have the flexibility to either route electricity to the UK grid or convert it into green hydrogen via offshore electrolysers.
Cross-Border Pipelines: The hydrogen generated by Scottish offshore wind is targeted to be fed into the planned AquaDuctus pipeline, which forms a transnational energy corridor connecting the UK to Germany and the rest of Europe.
Policy Integration: AquaVentus is actively advocating for legal reforms to accommodate these cross-border hybrid connections, allowing direct pipeline integration for future offshore parks.
I believe these ScotWind Leasing wind farms could be connected to AquaVentus.
- 1 – Morven – 2.9 GW – JERA Nex BP, EnBW
- 2 – Ossian – 2.6 GW – SSE Renewables
- 3 – Bellrock – 1.2 GW – Falck Renewables
- 4 – CampionWind – 2 GW – Scottish Power, Shell
- 5 – Muir Mhòr – 0.8 GW – Vattenfall
- 6 – Bowdun – – 1 GW – Thistle Wind Partners
Note.
- All companies are major energy companies.
- The wind farms are in a cluster to the South-East of Scotland.
- Wind farms 2-5 are floating, and 1 and 6 are fixed.
- There is a maximum power of 10.5 GW.
- These wind farms would not need to be shut down, when there was too much wind, if the excess electricity could be converted into hydrogen.
- The “Pipes & Wires” Concept would allow all energy generated to be transferred to shore, either as electricity or hydrogen.
Cables would need to be laid to perform the functions of the Eastern Green Links 1-4.
- Eastern Green Link 1 – Torness and Hawthorn Pit
- Eastern Green Link 2 – Peterhead and Drax
- Eastern Green Link 3 – Westfield and Lincolnshire
- Eastern Green Link 4 – Peterhead and Lincolnshire
Eastern Green Link 5 is under development between Aberdeenshire and Lincolnshire.
“Is Anderby Creek An Important Node In The Electricity Grid?”
Google AI gave this reply.
Yes, Anderby Creek has become a highly important landfall location for the UK’s electricity grid, acting as a crucial connection point for high-capacity subsea cables bringing renewable energy from Scotland and offshore wind farms into England.
Its role in the national grid’s infrastructure centers on several major “superhighway” projects:
Eastern Green Link 5 (EGL 5): This £3bn National Grid project involves a 585km subsea High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) cable carrying up to 2 GW of clean power (enough for two million homes) from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, to Anderby Creek.
Eastern Green Links 3 & 4 (EGL 3 / EGL 4): These are additional massive subsea cable projects that also plan to make landfall at Anderby Creek to transport Scottish wind energy down the UK coastline.
Offshore Wind Export Cables: Beyond long-distance transmission, the village already hosts export cables from local offshore wind developments like the Triton Knoll Wind Farm.
Because of the massive volume of power coming ashore, Anderby Creek serves as the starting point for significant onshore infrastructure. The cables transition underground at the beach and run roughly 8km inland to a proposed new converter station near Bilsby/Alford, where the power is converted and integrated into the broader Great Grid Upgrade.
“Will AquaVentus Have Access To The UK’s hydrogen Storage On Humberside?”
Google AI gave this reply.
Yes. Through a strategic partnership with Hydrogen Scotland, the AquaVentus initiative aims to establish cross-border offshore infrastructure that connects the central North Sea with existing and planned hydrogen networks across the UK, including those on Humberside.
The pipeline infrastructure associated with AquaVentus is envisioned to reach the UK just south of the massive hydrogen storage facilities located in East Yorkshire. While the German offshore pipeline (like AquaDuctus) is focused on landing green hydrogen into Germany, the broader AquaVentus framework is designed to integrate with British transmission networks and link to underground cavern storage in the UK.
On Humberside, major energy giants (including Centrica, Equinor, and SSE Thermal) are developing the integrated Humber Hydrogen transport and storage network. This system encompasses large-scale hydrogen storage at the Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage site and Rough Gas Storage. Because the AquaVentus UK branch connects to the Humber area’s onshore network, it positions the initiative to take advantage of these regional storage assets as a cornerstone for international trade and domestic energy resilience.
I think this is key as it gives AquaVentus access to very large hydrogen storage.
Conclusion
It almost looks to me, that National Grid and AquaVentus are combining their pipes and wires between the Southern North Sea and Aberdeen.
- Hydrogen offtake for Germany will be at Wilhelmshaven.
- Hydrogen offtake for England will be at Humberside.
- Hydrogen offtake for Scotland will be at Aberdeen.
- Electricity offtake for Germany will be at Wilhelmshaven.
- Electricity offtake for England will be at Anderby Creek.
- Electricity offtake for England will be at Hawthorn Pit.
- Electricity offtake for Scotland will be at Torness.
- Electricity offtake for Scotland will be at Aberdeen.
Note.
- There will probably be other connections to onshore locations and offshore wind farms.
- Hydrogen imports will be possible from Denmark, Norway and The Netherlands direct into AquaVentus.
UK, Netherlands To Connect Grids via Nederwiek 3 Offshore Wind Farm
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Dutch Climate and Green Growth Minister Sophie Hermans has included LionLink, said to be the first direct-current hybrid interconnector, in the country’s latest Offshore Wind Energy Development Framework. LionLink will use the offshore grid connection of Nederwiek 3 offshore wind farm in the Netherlands to connect to both the Dutch and the UK onshore high-voltage grids.
These are points from the article.
- The interconnector can also be used as an additional high-voltage link to exchange electricity between the countries.
- With LionLink now added to the offshore wind development framework, TenneT may now make investments in the project, which the Dutch transmission system operator (TSO) is realising in close cooperation with UK partner National Grid Ventures (NGV).
- Nederwiek 3 is planned to be launched in 2026.
The offshore grid between the UK and Europe is on its way.
What Are Offshore Hybrid Assets?
The title of this post is the same as that of a story explaining energy from National Grid.
This is the sub-heading.
Offshore Hybrid Assets or OHAs (formerly known as multi-purpose interconnectors) are a new generation of subsea technology that will connect clusters of offshore wind farms to multiple countries.
This is the first paragraph.
OHAs will help to speed up the connection of offshore wind and maximise the use of wind generation. They will also reduce the impact on local communities by reducing the amount of connection points and onshore infrastructure required to connect this clean energy to the shore.
The story goes on to discuss OHAs and how they are being developed.
It is very much a must read.