North Sea Showdown: RWE, Ørsted, and SSE in Legal Dispute Over Offshore Wake Losses

Three of Europe’s largest offshore wind developers RWE, Ørsted, and SSE are embroiled in a high-stakes legal battle over alleged “wind theft” in one of the UK’s most strategically important renewable energy zones. The dispute centers on RWE’s proposed Dogger Bank South project, a 3GW development that Ørsted and SSE claim will interfere with the wind resource of their nearby Hornsea and Dogger Bank A-C sites.

At issue are wake losses, the reduction in wind speed and energy yield caused when turbines disrupt airflow to other projects downwind. Ørsted and SSE argue that RWE’s current layout will negatively impact their developments, and have called for mitigation measures or compensation. In a heated planning hearing, their legal representatives described RWE’s position as “extraordinary,” and accused the German utility of attempting to dismiss legitimate concerns with convoluted legal arguments.

RWE has firmly rejected the claims, warning that such demands could set a damaging precedent for the offshore wind sector. Its legal team described the compensation requests as speculative and unworkable, arguing they would undermine the confidence and efficiency needed to meet the UK’s ambitious renewable energy targets.

The dispute involves more than 12GW of capacity across the Dogger Bank and Hornsea zones, making it one of the largest and most complex offshore wind planning conflicts to date. The case underscores the growing tensions in an increasingly crowded North Sea, where developers are now contending not just with environmental and logistical challenges, but also with one another.

The outcome of the hearing is expected to have far-reaching implications for offshore wind planning, both in the UK and internationally. If wake losses are formally recognized as a compensable impact, it could reshape the way offshore wind farms are designed, spaced, and negotiated between stakeholders.

With a decision due later this year from the UK Planning Inspectorate, the case has become a litmus test for how the industry balances competition with collaboration and how it manages the complex dynamics of a shared but invisible resource: the wind.