Developer Morgan withdraws from 96 turbine offshore windfarm project off Lancashire's Fylde coast

Morgan Offshore Wind Limited have reportedly pulled out because “the project is no longer economically viable”, according to Fylde MP Andrew Snowden.

The BP-backed Irish Sea project - which proposed building 96 turbines 22 miles off the Fylde coast - has been scrapped after it reportedly failed to secure taxpayer-funded subsidies.

The windfarm project was expected to produce 1500MW each year - enough electricity to power nearly two million homes, and was to begin commercial operations in 2032 or 2033.

Ed Miliband, UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, said the windfarm would be a ‘significant step’ towards the UK's net zero target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 100% from 1990 levels by 2050.

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However, it’s understood the Morecambe wind farm is proceeding with its own development timeline under separate ownership.

Mr Snowden, Conservative MP for Fylde, has been a vocal opponent of the windfarm and cable corridor plans. He welcomed the withdrawal of Morgan, saying their exit from the project had “thrown a spanner in the works”.

He said: “The company behind the Morgan Windfarm has decided to withdraw after not securing, what are in effect, the financial subsidies they wanted.

“They have said that in a challenging investment environment, the project is no longer economically viable.

“This is huge news, and a definite big spanner in the works of the devastating cabling corridor plans.

“But it’s a complicated, unclear and evolving situation - including what it means for the Morecambe project who were sharing costs on the cabling corridor with Morgan.

“I am already in direct contact with Cllr Karen Buckley, Leader of Fylde Council who I’ve been working closely with - and I’ll be urgently chasing the government and the companies to get more information.

“I will keep fighting this project at every turn, working with all the amazing community groups, Councillors and representatives who’ve been taking a stand.”

What did EnBW say?

EnBW, in partnership with BP and JERA Nex, explained that it withdrew from the Mona and Morgan offshore wind projects after failing to secure a sufficiently high price in the UK government's latest Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction round in January 2026. The company reportedly incurred a significant impairment charge as a result.

The government funding guarantees developers a stable price (strike price) for renewable electricity to encourage investment in large-scale projects, funded by energy bill payers.

In an investor notice published on January 15, EnBW said “the project was no longer economically viable” after failing to secure financial support from the UK government.

It also blamed other financial factors and “increasingly deteriorating conditions” - “such as significant cost increases across the supply chain, higher interest rates and ongoing project implementation risks.”

The notice from EnBW said:“The primary reason for EnBW’s withdrawal is that the two projects did not receive government support through so-called ‘Contracts for Difference’ in the recently completed allocation round of the UK Department of Energy Security and Net Zero”.

“In combination with other factors beyond its control, this implies that the projects are no longer economically viable as per EnBW’s standards and criteria.

“These include increasingly deteriorating conditions such as significant cost increases across the supply chain, higher interest rates and ongoing project implementation risks.”

Fylde Council leader Coun Karen Buckley said: "The decision by EnBW to pull out of the Mona and Morgan windfarms project creates uncertainty for both the future of Morgan and Morecambe, whose planned cabling corridors across Fylde would cause untold harm particularly to our countryside and agricultural businesses.

“It appears that the Mona project may have a new backer, but we await the outcome for Morgan and are pressing the agents to make a statement.

“The Planning Inspectorate's examination has been based on a joint proposal and so Morgan's exit may mean going back to the drawing board.

“If so, that presents an opportunity to re-think the choice of route and consider alternative landfall sites and other connection points to the grid, as repeatedly argued in submissions to the Examination Panel, that would not cause anywhere near the same level of harm or disruption."

Controversy

The Morgan Offshore Wind Project was a controversial issue due to plans for a 15.5 mile underground cable corridor through the Fylde countryside. Under the scheme, cables would come ashore near Starr Gate beach, close to Blackpool Airport, before running past BAE at Warton and into a battery storage facility in Penwortham.

Britain’s Ministry of Defence also opposed the plans on the grounds that the proposed turbine array would interfere with aviation radar systems at BAE’s Warton base.

In a public consultation process, the MOD stated that the project would have a "significant and detrimental impact on the effective operation and capability of the air traffic control radar" at Warton.

Fylde MP Andrew Snowden has previously expressed his concerns about the project and its affect on those in his constituency.

"There is no way that this is an appropriate way to go about doing this," he said, as the project sought planning permission last year.

"There are far more appropriate routes that have been suggested and we can't seem to get anyone to listen, and the substations don't need to be where they are. The whole thing needs a complete reboot."

Councillors also voted unanimously to object to plans for the onshore cabling for the wind farm. Lancashire County Council has previously raised concerns over potentially disruptive effects on local residents, tourism, environment and wildlife.

Tory councillor Peter Buckley said: "It is a multi-year construction project that will severely disrupt residents, businesses and local tourism.

"It will damage sensitive coastal and rural environments threatening wildlife habitats, bringing massive construction heavy traffic rumbling along narrow residential roads, and permanently alter the character of rural Fylde."

Morgan and Morecambe previously said it was committed to minimising the impact of realising the benefits brought by wind farms.

A spokesperson for Morgan and Morecambe said: "We remain fully committed to minimising these effects, and it is absolutely right that concerns are considered thoroughly and independently by the examining authority as part of the ongoing examination."

Morgan Offshore Windfarm were approached for comment.