Walney 1 offshore wind farm

Walney 1 is a 184 MW offshore wind farm with 51 turbines in English waters. Its status in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (July 2026 extract) is: operational since 30 May 2011; the record was last updated on 3 September 2020. Its REPD grid reference is 18 km from the nearest postcode on land (LA14 3YE, 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

184 MWoffshore wind farm

operationalstatus in REPD

3 September 2020record last updated

18 km from land (Westmorland and Furness)REPD location

Consent timeline

Date	Stage
31 March 2006	Application submitted
7 November 2007	Section 36 consent granted (Secretary of State)
10 March 2010	Construction started
30 May 2011	Operational

Project details

Technology: offshore wind farm
Capacity: 184 MW
Turbines: 51
Turbine capacity: 3.6 MW
Status (REPD): operational
Record last updated: 3 September 2020
Operator or applicant: Orsted (formerly Dong Energy)
Consenting authority (REPD): DECC (S36)
Application reference: not recorded
Nearest postcode on land: LA14 3YE (Westmorland and Furness), 18.1 km from the REPD grid reference
Time to decision: 84 weeks
Name in REPD: Walney 1
REPD reference: 2500

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)	20.5
Barrow-in-Furness (LA13)	22.5
Millom (LA18)	25.0
Dalton-in-Furness (LA15)	25.5
Askam-in-Furness (LA16)	26.1
Millom (LA19)	29.9
Kirkby-in-Furness (LA17)	31.4
Ulverston (LA12)	33.5
Broughton-in-Furness (LA20)	34.7
Fleetwood (FY7)	34.8
Ravenglass (CA18)	35.9
Thornton-Cleveleys (FY5)	37.1

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	7.0
Ormonde Offshore	150	operational	7.5
Walney 2	184	operational	7.6
Barrow	90	operational	15.2
Walney 3	659	operational	15.7
Cirrus Shell Flat Array	284	application withdrawn	28.7

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 (54.0394, -3.5158).

What Barrow-in-Furness knows as the Walney wind farm is split into three records in the REPD: Walney 1, Walney 2 and Walney 3, 1,027 MW between them, all operated by Orsted (formerly Dong Energy). Walney 1 came first: its 51 turbines of 3.6 MW have been operational since 30 May 2011.

One application for two, a separate one for the third

Walney 1 and Walney 2 went through a single application dated 31 March 2006 and received one Section 36 consent (the register credits the decision to DECC) on 7 November 2007: 84 weeks against a median of 95.8. Construction of Walney 1 began on 10 March 2010, and Walney 2, at 184 MW, started up a year later, on 6 April 2012. Walney 3 is a separate project: application on 30 July 2013, consent after 66 weeks, 87 turbines (40 at 8 MW and 47 at 7 MW, according to Orsted; the REPD lists 110 at 6 MW), 659 MW operational since 13 September 2018. Around Walney 1, within 30 km, other companies' wind farms are running too: West of Duddon Sands (389 MW, 7.0 km), Ormonde (150 MW) and Barrow. The nearest district on land: LA14.