Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made (a) an estimate of the cost of the Hornsea windfarm project in the North Sea and (b) a comparative assessment of the efficiency of the project with drilling oil in the same area.

Offshore wind continues to play a key role in the future electricity system. There are several different Hornsea offshore wind farms, each developed privately and supported through different competitive allocation rounds, with project-specific costs known to their respective developers. Hornsea 4 remains in development and has not yet secured government support; it will need to demonstrate value for money through a future allocation round. The latest Allocation Round (AR7) secured offshore wind capacity at a price 40% lower than the cost and operating a new gas-fired generation.

The Department has not made a comparative assessment of the efficiency of the project against drilling for oil in the same area.