First Power

Copenhagen Offshore Partners’ OEUK Share Fair 2026 presentation for the Morecambe Offshore Wind Farm sets out a detailed project schedule that points to first power occurring in mid‑2029. On the project overview slide, Morecambe is described as a 480 MW offshore wind farm in the UK Irish Sea with a single offshore substation platform (OSP) and one export circuit, and the bullet points specify a “post‑HND firm grid connection in June 2029.” The accompanying Level 1 development milestones graphic reinforces this by showing a distinct “Grid Connection” milestone in Q3 2029, ahead of a targeted Commercial Operation Date (COD) in Q4 2030. Together, these indicate that the project team expects the export cable and grid interface to be energised around mid‑2029, enabling initial power export before full commercial operations are reached. An earlier official newsletter from September 2023 outlined a slightly more ambitious schedule, with the earliest anticipated start of construction in 2026 and an expected COD in 2028/29. That document framed the dates as indicative and subject to change, and it emphasised that technical work, environmental surveys, and stakeholder feedback were still shaping the final design and programme. The updated 2026 presentation reflects subsequent development progress and schedule refinement, pushing COD to 2030 and explicitly tying grid connection to June 2029. In project lifecycle terms, this firm grid‑connection date is a strong proxy for the first‑power milestone, marking the point when the wind farm can begin exporting electricity during commissioning ahead of full operational status.