Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm

Greater Gabbard Wind Farm is a 504 MW offshore wind farm with 140 turbines in English waters. Its status in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (July 2026 extract) is: operational since 7 September 2012; the record was last updated on 2 October 2019. Its REPD grid reference is 33 km from the nearest postcode on land (IP12 2NY, East Suffolk). 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

504 MWoffshore wind farm

operationalstatus in REPD

2 October 2019record last updated

33 km from land (East Suffolk)REPD location

Consent timeline

Date	Stage
17 October 2005	Application submitted
20 February 2007	Section 36 consent granted (Secretary of State)
1 July 2009	Construction started
7 September 2012	Operational

Project details

Technology: offshore wind farm
Capacity: 504 MW
Turbines: 140
Turbine capacity: 3.6 MW
Status (REPD): operational
Record last updated: 2 October 2019
Operator or applicant: Airtricity / Fluor Ltd
Consenting authority (REPD): DECC (S36)
Application reference: not recorded
Nearest postcode on land: IP12 2NY (East Suffolk), 32.9 km from the REPD grid reference
Time to decision: 70 weeks
REPD reference: 2510

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
Aldeburgh (IP15)	35.0
Leiston (IP16)	39.7

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
Galloper Wind Farm	353	operational	8.7
East Anglia 1 North (EA 4)	800	approved, not built	29.6
East Anglia 1 (EA 1)	714	operational	29.6
East Anglia 3 (EA 3)	1,400	under construction	29.6

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 (51.9176, 1.9284).

Greater Gabbard received its consent quickly, yet took more than three years to build. This offshore wind farm of 140 turbines at 3.6 MW each stands in the North Sea, 33 km from the coast of East Suffolk; the nearest postcode district is IP15 (Aldeburgh) at 35.0 km, with IP16 at 39.7 km. According to the REPD extract for July 2026, it ranks twelfth by capacity among operational offshore wind farms in the UK.

From application to grid

Airtricity and Fluor Ltd submitted their application on 17 October 2005. Consent under Section 36 was issued on 20 February 2007, after 70 weeks, whereas this authority's median for offshore wind (listed in the register as DECC) is 95.8 weeks. Construction began on 1 July 2009, and it was only on 7 September 2012 that the wind farm became operational.

Neighbours off Suffolk

At 8.7 km, Galloper is operational at 353 MW, with its own separate decision. Further out, at 29.6 km, East Anglia 1 (714 MW) is operational, East Anglia 3 (1,400 MW) is under construction and East Anglia 1 North (800 MW) is approved, not built. The Greater Gabbard record has not been updated since 2 October 2019.