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News about Hesselø
The Danish Energy Agency approved the plan for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm on 19 July 2024
02-08-2024
The Danish Energy Agency has assessed, based on the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the plan for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm (OWF) and the consultation responses received, that it is possible to approve the plan. The plan sets the general framework for the future construction project for Hesselø OWF. The plan alone does not allow the construction of facilities. The Danish Energy Agency's decision can be appealed to the Danish Energy Board of Appeal until 16 August 2024.
According to the Environmental Assessment Act, the Danish Energy Agency has prepared a SEA summary statement. The purpose of the SEA summary statement is to describe how environmental considerations are integrated into the plan and how the SEA report and consultation responses received have been taken into account.
Read the final plan for Hesselø OWF and the SEA summary statement (in Danish)
Read the press release (in Danish)
The Danish Energy Agency initiates the second public consultation regarding the plan for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm
05-02-2024
The Danish Energy Agency invites the public, companies, authorities and other interested in the coming Hesselø OWF to submit remarks on the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the plan for the revised southern location of Hesselø OWF.
The public consultation of the revised SEA of the plan for Hesselø OWF runs from the 5 February to 5 April 2024. In connection with the consultation, a public meeting will be held in Gilleleje, where the results of the environmental report will be presented.
The public meeting will be held on 19 March from 16.00 - 19.00 in Kulturhavn Gilleleje, Peter Fjeldstrup's vej 12, 3250 Gilleleje. There will be a presentation at 17.00. It is not necessary to register for the public meeting.
Read relevant hearing material, information on how to submit inputs to the hearing etc.
The further process for Hesselø OWF
After the consultation, the Danish Energy Agency will examine the remarks, and if necessary update the plan accordingly. Hereafter, the Danish Energy Agency will make a SEA Summary Statement and publish the final plan.
Publication of new list of deliveries on preliminary investigations for Hesselø OWF
15-03-2023
The Danish Energy Agency has now published a tentative list of the forthcoming deliveries of preliminary investigations for the new Hesselø OWF area.
Some of the list’s dates are tentative and will be updated continuously.
See the list of deliveries on preliminary investigations for the new Hesselø OWF area
Updated scoping of SEA, plan and note on public consultation for Hesselø OWF
10-03-2023
The Danish Energy Agency (DEA) has updated the scoping of the SEA for Hesselø OWF and the plan for Hesselø OWF.
Furthermore, the DEA has published a note on the public consultation regarding the scoping of the SEA for Hesselø OWF.
The scoping, plan and note is only available in Danish.
Find the documents and more information at the DEA website (in Danish)
The Danish Energy Agency launches a supplementary 5-weeks public hearing concerning the sea-based part of the strategic environmental assessment of the plan for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm
10-10-2022
Due to the Climate Agreement on green electricity and heat of 25 June 2022, Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm moves to an area south of the original Hesselø area.
The Danish Energy Agency invites the public, companies, authorities and other interested in the coming Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm to submit ideas on the revised sea-based part of the strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of the plan for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm.
The public hearing, which is an early public consultation in the scoping phase, runs from the 10 October to 14 November 2022.
Read relevant hearing material, information on how to submit inputs to the hearing, etc. (in Danish)
The Danish Energy Agency is the responsible authority for the SEA of the plan. Based on the ideas and inputs received during the consultation, the Danish Energy Agency will decide what topics and environmental impacts to be included in the SEA.
The results of the environmental assessment should be published and subject to a public consultation in the first half of 2024. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency expects mid-2024 to issue the EIA-permit (§ 25 of the Danish Environmental Assessment Act) for the land-based part of the project, provided that the EIA-process allows the project to be carried out.
The EIA of the offshore-based part of the project is expected to be carried out in 2025-2026 when the winner of the tender for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm has been found: the scoping phase is expected to be in 2025 and the 2nd public consultation on the EIA report is expected to be in 2026. Later in 2026, the Danish Energy Agency expects to issue the construction license (EIA-permit) for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm, provided that the EIA-process allows the project to be carried out.
Publication of additional technical reports for the original Hesselø site
30-09-2022
We have now published the following technical reports for the original Hesselø site:
- 211 Visibility analysis – example visualisations for Hesselø OWF
- New version of 214 Fisheries – technical report
Publication of the report about geotechnical investigations for the landfall at Gilbjerg Hoved
22-08-2022
We have now published the following technical report for the original Hesselø site:
- 311 Hesselø OWF Landfall - Site Investigations For Horizontal Directional Drillings
Publication of technical reports for the original Hesselø site
19-08-2022
We have now published the following technical reports for the original Hesselø site:
- 208 Birds
- 209 Marine mammals
- 210 Benthic flora and fauna
- 211 Visibility analysis
- 212 Navigational risk assessment of Hesselø offshore wind farm - Risk Assessment Report
- 213 Radar and radio interference - Technical report
- 214 Fish and fisheries
- 215 Underwater noise
Final lidar report and data published
1-8-2022
Energinet has published the lidar data regarding the original Hesselø site on the ftp-server.
Go to page with final lidar report
New agreement on an alternative location for Hesselø offshore wind farm
27-06-2022
The location for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm is moving south to reduce risk in establishing the wind farm while also accommodating conflicting interests in the area.
Renewed preliminary investigations are necessary. Hence the need to postpone the call for competition. Further information will follow during the first quarter of 2023 in a renewed preliminary market consultation. The Danish Energy Agency expects the receipt of tenders to be during the second half of 2024. Deadline for full commissioning of the wind farm is by the end of 2029.
See the Press release from the Danish Energy Agency
Reports from the preliminary investigations published
19-04-2022
The DEA has just published the following reports from the pre-investigations
102 Site Wind Conditions Assessment
103 Metocean Conditions Assessment
103 Hesselø - Ice Assessment
303 Hydrographical Report, wind farm site
304 Hydrographical Report, export cable routes
305 Geoarkæologisk Analyse OWF (minor update)
309 Integrated Geomodel
309 Integrated Geomodel - Enclosure 1
310 Desk Study Weather Window
See published reports from the preliminary investigations
Most of the reports plus all data are on Energinet’s ftp-site.
Final Factual Geotechnical Report and Marine Archaeology Report published
20-12-2021
The Draft Geotechnical Investigation Report has now been replaced with the Final Factual Geotechnical Report to be found on the Preliminary Investigations site here.
All reports and appendices as well as the data can be found on Energinet’s FTP server.
In the final version of the Factual Geotechnical Reports, a few adjustments have been made and some minor errors have been corrected. Additional PS-logging data and laboratory test results have been included in the AGS data file.
Also the Marine Archaeology Report (in Danish) has been published and can be found as well on the Preliminary Investigations site.
Input File for the Technical Dialogue published
05-11-2021
The DEA has published the Input File for the Technical Dialogue. The file contains a range of questions about the effects of the seabed conditions at the Hesselø site. The file also offers the opportunity to make other comments and suggestions to the DEA.
The deadline for sending your input in the Input File is November 26, 2021. Please send it to offshorewindfarms@ens.dk
The Input File can be found on the Market Dialogue page here
Geotechnical data and reports published
29-10-2021
Today, the DEA published the report from the geotechnical investigations. The Draft Factual Report can be found at Preliminary investigations for North Sea I.
The Draft Factual Report, the Operations Report, the Draft Factual Report AGS Data and all data can be accessed through Energinet’s FTP-server. On how to access the FTP-server, please go to the top of the Preliminary Investigations site.
The geotechnical reports and data will form the basis for the Technical Dialogue on Hesselø OWF – please find more information on the Dialogue here
The input file, which the DEA encourages all potential bidders to use when submitting written recommendations and answers to the questions raised by the DEA in the input-file, is expected to be made available soon.
Technical dialogue on Hesselø OFW
08-10-2021
The Danish Energy Agency and Energinet invites all potential bidders to discuss the impact of the soft clay sediments at the Hesselø OWF site.
The technical dialogue will take place from late October to late November 2021 and will be based on data and reports from the geophysical and geotechnical surveys.
The geophysical data and report has just been published, and the draft geotechnical report and data will be published on late October.
Please see the news article about the technical dialogue here (in Danish) and here (in English) and the program for the technical dialogue here.
Geophysical data and report published
07-10-2021
The Danish Energy Agency has just published the Geophysical Survey Report of the wind farm site, the 3D Seismic Survey Report and the Export Cables Routes Survey Report.
All can be found at Kriegers Flak II.
All data can be accessed through Energinet’s FTP-server. On how to access the server, please go to the top of the Preliminary Investigations site.
Data on soft sediment released
04-08-2021
The data on the soft sediment in the seabed at the Hesselø OWF site has now been released (under section 308) alongside a document describing the applied data analysis method.
This data will be followed by a draft geotechnical investigations report, expected to be published at the end of October 2021.
As a consequence of the seabed findings the DEA will soon invite potential bidders to a new market dialogue. The indicative timeline for the market dialogue is as follows:
August 2021: Invitation to Market Dialogue
October 2021: Discussion Paper for Market Dialogue Released
October 2021: Draft geotechnical investigations report Released
November 2021: Deadline for Market Dialogue Input
Tender Put On Hold
26-06-2021
The tender for Hesselø OFW has been put on hold as the preliminary site investigations have revealed soft clay formations, especially the upper 20-30 m below the seabed, in large parts of the area selected for the OFW. Read the press release
Feedback report from the market dialogue
27-05-2021
In November and December 2020, the DEA and Energinet hosted a market dialogue on the upcoming tender of Hesselø OWF.
As part of the market dialogue, the attending potential tenderers and industry associations had the opportunity of submitting written questions and comments, which, in anonymized form, the DEA and Energinet addresses in the feedback report published today.
Description of the subsidy scheme for Hesselø OWF
10-05-2021
Find a detailed description of the support scheme for Hesselø OWF, decided on 26 March 2021
Publication of the scoping of the strategic environmental assessment (SEA) for the plan for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm
04-05-2021
In the period from 12 February to 19 March 2021, the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) conducted a public hearing to obtaining comments and proposals for the scoping of the strategic environmental assessment (SEA) for the plan for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm. Based on the inputs received during the consultation, the DEA has now adjusted the scoping compared to the draft version that was published as part of the consultation material. The scoping contains the DEA’s requirements for the environmental report, including which topics and environmental impacts must be highlighted in the report and how comprehensive and detailed information the report must contain.
During the second quarter of 2021, the DEA expects also to publish a consultation note, which will contain a description of the inputs received together with the DEA's comments. It will also include a description of how the inputs received were included in the further environmental assessment process.
Link to the scoping (in Danish)
Subsidy scheme decided on 26 March 2021
26-3-2021
The Danish Government and the parties behind the Climate Agreement of June 2020 has decided on a subsidy scheme for Hesselø OWF. The scheme is a two way CfD, that takes it’s point of departure in the subsidy scheme for Thor OWF.
There are a few adjustments to the scheme. Please find the agreement on the subsidy scheme here – in Danish only.
A thorough description of the subsidy scheme in English will follow soon.
The Danish energy Agency and energinet provide access to data from the preliminary investigations for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm
24-02-2021
In relation to the tendering of Hesselø OWF, a range of preliminary investigations and environmental assessments are being carried out. The Danish Energy Agency and Energinet are now providing access to the first results and data from these investigations.
Kattegat and Hesselø offshore wind farms
Results in the form of reports and data will be updated continuously on this webpage, as soon as they are ready. An overview of all the results and data to be collected, as well as approximate times for when these will be available can also be found on the webpage.
The information in the reports and data is primarily aimed at potential tenderers for Hesselø OWF, but the environmental reports are also relevant for stakeholders in relation to the environmental assessments process.
The Danish Energy Agency and the Danish Environmental Protection Agency launches a 5-week public hearing concerning environmental assessments related to Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm
12-02-2021
The Danish Energy Agency and the Danish Environmental Protection Agency invites the public, companies, authorities and other interested in the coming Hesselø Offshore Wind to submit ideas on the strategic environmental assessment (SEA) for the plan for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm and the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the land-based part of the project.
The public hearing, which is an early public consultation in the scoping phase, runs from the 12 February to 19 March 2021.
Read relevant hearing material, information on how to submit inputs to the hearing, etc. (in Danish).
The Danish Energy Agency is the responsible authority for the SEA of the plan for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm while the Danish Environmental Protection Agency is the responsible authority for the EIA of the land-based project. Based on the ideas and inputs received during the consultation, the Danish Energy Agency and the Danish Environmental Protection Agency will decide what topics and environmental impacts to be included in the SEA and the EIA respectively.
The results of the environmental assessments should be published and subject to a public consultation in the first half of 2022. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency expects mid-2022 to issue the EIA-permit (§ 25 of the Danish Environmental Assessment Act) for the land-based part of the project.
The EIA of the offshore-based part of the project is expected to be carried out in 2023-2024 when the winner of the tender for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm has been found: the scoping phase is expected to be in 2023 and the 2nd public consultation on the EIA report is expected to be in 2024. Later in 2024, the Danish Energy Agency expects to issue the construction license (EIA-permit) for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm, provided that the EIA-process allows the project to be carried out.
Publication of the market dialogue material for the future Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm tender
11-11-2020
Today, the DEA publishes the discussion paper for the market dialogue regarding the upcoming Hesselø OWF tender. The DEA would thereby like to invite potential tenderers and relevant industry associations to participate in the market dialogue by sending written input and/or by participating in a virtual meeting with the DEA and the Danish TSO, Energinet.
- Written comments and questions to the DEA should be sent by e-mail to hesselo@ens.dk by no later than 7 December 2020.
- The virtual meetings will take place on 25, 26, 27 and 30 November 2020.
➜ Read more about the market dialogue regarding the Hesselø OWF tender
Market dialogue on the tendering process
28-10-2020
The market dialogue on the tendering procedure for Hesselø OWF will be held on 25 - 30 November, 2020.
More info and how to sign up for bilateral meetings with the DEA and Energinet will follow.
Read the news article in English
Read the news article in Danish
Gilbjerg Hoved chosen as landfall for Hesselø grid connection
23-10-2020
The Danish Energy Agency (DEA) and Energinet have decided, that the export cables from Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm (Hesselø OWF) will have its landfall at Gilbjerg Hoved, west of Gilleleje on the north coast of Sealand. Thus, the alternative landfall option – included in the granted license for preliminary investigations to Energinet – at Kyndby in Isefjord is cancelled.
The choice has been made primarily based on considerable cost savings for the concession owner. The chosen route with landfall at Gilbjerg Hoved requires considerably shorter subsea export cables compared to the alternative landfall option, and will thus be associated with lower total cable costs, even though this landfall option requires longer onshore cables than the alternative. The onshore export cables from Gilbjerg Hoved to the Point of Connection in the collective transmission grid at Hovegård, which the concession owner will own and be responsible for installing, will be approximately 50 km.
Energinet estimates that the landfall at Gilbjerg Hoved provides a technically substantially better project than the alternative option. Furthermore, Energinet estimates, that the concession owner can install the required cables and substations with no likely significant effects on the environment. Moreover, Energinet estimates that the overall installations can be done within the time frame, which gives the concession owner 5 years from the concession is rewarded, until the wind farm has to be fully commissioned.
Energinet will carry out preliminary investigations onshore and offshore, including SEA for the plan for Hesselø OWF and the EIA for the onshore project. The concession owner will carry out the EIA for the offshore part of the project, as is the case with Thor OWF.
More details on the project to come in the market dialogue, to be held in the end of November, which the DEA will announce shortly.
Licence for preliminary investigations for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm
01-10-2020
The Danish Energy Agency (DEA) has today granted Energinet a licence for preliminary investigations for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm. The licence is valid from the 1st of October 2020 until the 1st of April 2022. As part of the preliminary investigations for the site of Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm, Energinet will conduct preliminary geotechnical, geophysical and marine biological surveys.
The preliminary investigations will take place in the following areas:
- The offshore wind farm area,
- The two options of so-called export cable routes, i.e. the routes that carry the power from the offshore wind farm to the landfall,
- A larger area around the two previously mentioned areas for the marine biological surveys.
Attention is drawn to the fact that the licence for preliminary investigations alone does not allow the construction of Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm and that the DEA has not yet taken a decision on whether it is possible to build a wind farm in the specified area.
The preliminary investigations contribute to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the plan for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm. The data collected by Energinet during the preliminary investigations will be published on the DEA’s homepage in order to give the tenderers a good basis to prepare their offer later on in the process. This risk minimization is expected to result in lower bid prices and is part of the Danish model for offshore wind tenders. The winner of the tender will also get the possibility to use the results of the preliminary investigations in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the offshore-based part of the project.
The licence for preliminary investigations for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm contains two options regarding the export cable routes: (1) a route from the offshore wind farm to a landfall on the coast near Kyndby (going through Isefjord) and (2) a route from the offshore wind farm to a landfall at Gilbjerg Hoved, west of Gilleleje Harbour. The DEA and Energinet, the Danish TSO, are currently analysing which export cable corridor is the optimal solution, based on a number of parameters such as economics, technology, law, timeframe, environment, etc. The choice of landing route and landing point will be made as soon as possible. Then, only the chosen export cable route will be analysed as part of the preliminary investigations.
In the next couple of months, the DEA and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), together with Energinet, will initiate the process for the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the plan for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm as well as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the land-based part of the project. The DEA is the responsible authority for the SEA of the plan for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm while the EPA is the responsible authority for the EIA of the land-based project.
Read the licence for preliminary investigations for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm
Read news article about the licence (in Danish)
Consultation of authorities concerning the licence for preliminary investigations for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm
03-09-2020
The Danish Energy Agency launches a 2-week consultation of authorities concerning the licence for preliminary investigations for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm. The licence for preliminary investigations will allow Energinet to conduct preliminary geotechnical, geophysical and biological surveys.
The hearing runs from 3rd September to 17th September 2020.
Read the press release (in Danish)
Preliminary studies and strategic impact assessment
2-7-2020
The Minister of Energy, Climate and Utilities has assigned the Danish TSO, Energinet, to initiate preliminary studies including strategic environmental assessment (SEA) for Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm and the establishment of onshore point of connection to the grid.
Read the press release (in Danish)