IN Brief:
- DESNZ has granted development consent for the Morgan and Morecambe offshore wind transmission assets.
- The scheme covers export cables, landfall infrastructure, two new onshore substations, and connection works to Penwortham.
- Consent clears the statutory decision stage, while detailed engineering, procurement, requirement discharge, and construction remain ahead.
The Morgan and Morecambe Offshore Wind Farms: Transmission Assets project has been granted development consent by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, clearing the shared consenting package for infrastructure intended to connect the two Irish Sea offshore wind projects to the onshore transmission system.
The development consent order covers offshore export cables, landfall infrastructure, onshore export cables, two new onshore substations, onward grid connection cables, circuit breaker compounds, and associated infrastructure. The transmission systems are intended to connect at National Grid’s existing Penwortham substation in Lancashire.
Morgan Offshore Wind Limited and Morecambe Offshore Windfarm Limited submitted the application to the Planning Inspectorate on 21 October 2024, and it was accepted for examination on 18 November. A six-month examination followed, allowing local authorities, statutory consultees, communities, and other interested parties to submit evidence.
The Examining Authority sent its recommendation to the Secretary of State on 29 January 2026. A decision had originally been expected in May, but the determination was delayed until September while the government continued considering the application. The earlier delay left the transmission package awaiting a final decision after the examination itself had closed.
Consent now moves the project beyond that statutory stage, but it does not amount to a construction notice. The promoters still have to discharge requirements attached to the order, complete detailed engineering, coordinate with National Grid, secure access and land arrangements, procure long-lead equipment, and sequence offshore and onshore construction.
The transmission package is legally separate from the generation consents for the individual wind farms. Both generation projects have development consent in force, but the commercial position of Morgan changed after its parent companies decided not to proceed with the existing Crown Estate Agreement for Lease. The Crown Estate has been considering next steps for the site, while the Morgan generation consent remains in force.
That distinction matters because an offshore wind development is delivered through several linked but separately managed systems. Turbines and inter-array cables form the generation plant, while offshore substations, export cables, landfall works, onshore cable circuits, substations, and the final transmission connection determine whether that generation can reach the wider network.
The Morgan and Morecambe transmission project comprises two electrically separate systems rather than a single combined connection. The projects share parts of the development and consenting process, but each retains its own electrical route through the transmission infrastructure to Penwortham.
The onshore route runs from landfall between Blackpool and Lytham St Annes to two new substations and then onwards to the existing National Grid substation. The project website states that the final connection uses 400kV infrastructure, bringing a high-voltage engineering package into an area where route selection, civil works, land access, and environmental mitigation have been prominent parts of the consent process.
Detailed design now has to convert the consent envelope into buildable equipment specifications. Cable conductor sizing, thermal performance, reactive power, protection, earthing, transformer ratings, switchgear, communications, and control systems all have to be coordinated with the requirements at the Penwortham connection point.
Export cables introduce their own installation constraints. Offshore sections have to be manufactured, transported, laid, protected, and jointed across marine and intertidal environments, while the onshore circuits require trenching, crossings, joint bays, temporary compounds, and restoration across a long corridor.
The two new substations add another interface between the offshore projects and National Grid. Civil foundations, transformers, high-voltage switchgear, auxiliary supplies, protection panels, control equipment, and communications must be installed and tested before the final circuits can be energised. Long lead times for transformers, cable, and switchgear mean procurement can become as important to programme delivery as the civil construction itself.
Local opposition has focused heavily on the onshore route and substation impacts, and Fylde Council said after the decision that it was reviewing the order and taking legal advice. The consent therefore resolves the government’s statutory decision on the application, but it does not remove the possibility of further legal or delivery issues around the approved route.
For the electricity system, the project is another example of the infrastructure required behind offshore generation targets. Turbine capacity can only contribute to the network once export circuits, substations, protection, control, and the transmission interface are available on compatible timescales.
The order gives Morgan and Morecambe the legal framework for that work. The next milestones will be less about planning documents and more about detailed design, procurement, requirement discharge, construction sequencing, and whether the transmission assets can progress in step with the generation projects they were designed to serve.
