The initial development work for the project was undertaken with consortium Smart Wind in December 2011, with Dong Energy holding an option to acquire its share when the development project received Government consent.
Once completed, Hornsea Project One will have a total capacity of 1,200 MW, making it the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
Dong Energy Wind Power executive vice president Samuel Leupold said the scale of the project and the “excellent” wind conditions at site are “important” in achieving Dong Energy’s target to reduce costs to €100 per mega-watt hour.
Dong was given the option of taking full ownership of Project One after the Department of Energy and Climate Change granted consent for the project in December last year.
Smart Wind will continue to develop the rest of the Hornsea Zone and has recently submitted Project Two, the second of three developments in the Zone, to the Planning Inspectorate.
Huub den Rooijen, head of offshore wind at The Crown Estate, said: “We look forward to working with the industry on this and other developments to ensure the UK remains the most attractive country to invest.”
Smart Wind is a joint venture between Mainstream Renewable Power and Siemens Financial Services.