The world's largest offshore wind farm has connected its first subsea export cable, which will supply electricity to 3.3 million homes
09.04.2026
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The biggest offshore wind farm, Hornsea 3, connected its first export cable from the North Sea seafloor to the British coast on March 26, 2026, inching it closer to delivering clean electricity to over 3.3 million U.K homes.
Developed by Fredericia-based Danish energy company Orsted, the offshore wind farm lies in the North Sea, 120 km off the eastern shores of England and will boast a capacity of 6 GW once it becomes fully operational.
The $11.2 billion project will significantly boost the UK’s renewable energy capabilities and reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuels.
Featuring Siemens Gamesa’s 14 MW Turbines, the Hornsea 3 will create around 5,000 construction jobs and 1,200 long-term roles.
Each wind turbine is 54 m high and weighs around 3500 tons.
It will be operated from Grimsby and contribute to the government’s target of 50 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and net-zero by 2050.
NKT, the export cable supplier for the project, began making the cables 3 years ago and will complete the work in the summer.
Jan De Nul, who is leading the project, will transport and install 422 miles of export cables by the end of 2026.
Companies such as Hitachi Energy, Aibel, and Heerema Fabrication Group are contributing to the manufacturing and assembly of critical components.
Parts for the wind farm were shipped from around the world. For instance, large steel structures such as jackets were brought from the Dutch Port of Vlissingen.
The new connected cable is made of two HDVC cables, which are bundled together.
It will carry power generated by the offshore turbines to land. The fibre optic cable transmits data back to the wind farm operations centre.
Hornsea 3 is to become the firm’s 3rd Gigawatt scale project in the region, after the 1.2-GW Hornsea 1 and 1.3-GW Hornsea 2.
Duncan Clark, Head of Ørsted UK & Ireland, said that Hornsea 3 will play a vital role in achieving the government’s climate and clean energy goals while creating jobs.
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