Barrow offshore wind farm

Barrow is a 90 MW offshore wind farm with 30 turbines in English waters. Its status in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (July 2026 extract) is: operational since 1 April 2006; the record was last updated on 20 November 2017. Its REPD grid reference is 9 km from the nearest postcode on land (LA14 3YQ, Westmorland and Furness). It was consented under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 by the Secretary of State for energy (REPD: DECC, the energy department at the time).

How it works ↓

Data: REPD July 2026 extract · calculated 7 November 2026 · Methodology and sources

90 MWoffshore wind farm

operationalstatus in REPD

20 November 2017record last updated

9 km from land (Westmorland and Furness)REPD location

Consent timeline

Date	Stage
10 May 2002	Application submitted
12 March 2003	Section 36 consent granted (Secretary of State)
1 May 2005	Construction started
1 April 2006	Operational

Project details

Technology: offshore wind farm
Capacity: 90 MW
Turbines: 30
Turbine capacity: 3 MW
Status (REPD): operational
Record last updated: 20 November 2017
Operator or applicant: Orsted (formerly Dong Energy)
Consenting authority (REPD): DECC (S36)
Application reference: not recorded
Nearest postcode on land: LA14 3YQ (Westmorland and Furness), 9.0 km from the REPD grid reference
Time to decision: 44 weeks
REPD reference: 2546

Who decides

It was consented under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 by the Secretary of State for energy (REPD: DECC, the energy department at the time).

Postcode districts within 40 km

District	km
Barrow-in-Furness (LA14)	14.8
Barrow-in-Furness (LA13)	15.5
Fleetwood (FY7)	19.6
Dalton-in-Furness (LA15)	19.8
Thornton-Cleveleys (FY5)	22.3
Askam-in-Furness (LA16)	22.6
Blackpool (FY2)	23.4
Poulton-le-Fylde (FY6)	24.9
Millom (LA18)	25.0
Blackpool (FY1)	25.6
Blackpool (FY3)	26.2
Ulverston (LA12)	27.4

Straight-line distance from the centre of each postcode district to the REPD grid reference of the wind farm, which is a single point for the whole site.

Other offshore wind projects within 30 km

Project	MW	Status	km
West of Duddon Sands	389	operational	10.7
Ormonde Offshore	150	operational	14.2
Cirrus Shell Flat Array	284	application withdrawn	14.9
Walney 1	184	operational	15.2
Walney 2	184	operational	22.6

All offshore wind farms in UK waters

Status and dates as recorded in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (July 2026 extract); the database can lag behind consent decisions. Location: REPD grid reference (53.9915, -3.2983).

Barrow, one of the first offshore wind farms off Barrow-in-Furness, is modest by today's standards: 30 turbines of 3 MW each. The operator is Orsted (formerly Dong Energy). Its larger neighbours came later.

The application was submitted on 10 May 2002, and on 12 March 2003 the minister granted consent under Section 36 (the register lists DECC as the authority). That is 44 weeks against a median of 95.8 for offshore wind, so twice as fast. Construction began on 1 May 2005, and power first flowed on 1 April 2006.

Walney and other neighbours

Searches for “Barrow-in-Furness wind farm” are often looking for Walney. Those are different projects: Walney 1 and Walney 2 at 184 MW each, and Walney 3 at 659 MW. Nearby you also have West of Duddon Sands (389 MW) and Ormonde (150 MW), while the application for Cirrus Shell Flat Array, at 284 MW, was withdrawn. The upshot: Barrow contributes 90 MW to the whole cluster, with the rest coming from the neighbours around LA14. Statuses are taken from the REPD extract for July 2026; anything decided since then does not yet show in the register.