Hornsea 1 - Heron & Njord offshore wind farm

Hornsea 1 - Heron & Njord is a 1,218 MW offshore wind farm with 174 turbines in English waters. Its status in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (July 2026 extract) is: operational since 1 December 2019; the record was last updated on 3 September 2020. Its REPD grid reference is 83 km from the nearest postcode on land (NR26 8AG, North Norfolk). As a nationally significant project, it was decided by the Secretary of State responsible for energy at the time on a Development Consent Order after examination by the Planning Inspectorate (EN010033).

How it works ↓

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

1,218 MWoffshore wind farm

operationalstatus in REPD

3 September 2020record last updated

83 km from land (North Norfolk)REPD location

Consent timeline

Date	Stage
30 July 2013	Application submitted
10 December 2014	Development consent granted (Secretary of State)
26 January 2018	Construction started
1 December 2019	Operational

Project details

Technology: offshore wind farm
Capacity: 1,218 MW
Turbines: 174
Turbine capacity: 7 MW
Status (REPD): operational
Record last updated: 3 September 2020
Operator or applicant: Orsted (formerly Dong Energy)
Consenting authority (REPD): The Planning Inspectorate - National Infrastructure
Application reference: EN010033
Nearest postcode on land: NR26 8AG (North Norfolk), 83.1 km from the REPD grid reference
Time to decision: 71 weeks
Contracts for Difference: AR3
REPD reference: 2525

Official project record at the Planning Inspectorate

Who decides

As a nationally significant project, it was decided by the Secretary of State responsible for energy at the time on a Development Consent Order after examination by the Planning Inspectorate (EN010033). All Energy Secretary decisions on solar and wind farms.

Other offshore wind projects within 30 km

Project	MW	Status	km
Hornsea 3	2,955	under construction	<0.1
Hornsea 4	2,400	approved, not built	<0.1

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 (53.6815, 1.4207).

Behind the name Hornsea lie four different projects in the REPD, and Hornsea 1 (listed as Hornsea 1 - Heron & Njord) is the first of them. Its 174 turbines of 7 MW each are operated by Orsted. According to the July 2026 extract, of the 49 operational offshore wind farms in Great Britain, only Hornsea 2 is more powerful.

The four Hornsea projects

Hornsea 2: 1,320 MW, the most powerful of the operational ones.
Hornsea 1: 1,218 MW, operational since 1 December 2019.
Hornsea 3: 2,955 MW, under construction, a separate record at the same location.
Hornsea 4: 2,400 MW, approved, but in May 2025 Orsted halted the project.

The application was submitted on 30 July 2013, the examination was conducted by the Planning Inspectorate (EN010033), and the development consent order for a nationally significant infrastructure project (DCO) was granted on 10 December 2014, 71 weeks later. Construction began on 26 January 2018. The REPD measures the 83 km distance as a straight line from a single notional point covering the whole wind farm to the nearest postcode, and that postcode turned out to be in North Norfolk. The record was last updated on 3 September 2020.