Major U.K Offshore Wind Site Abandoned By BP Is Back Up For Auction

The Crown Estate has launched a tender process to choose a new developer for the up to 1.5-gigawatt Morgan offshore wind project in the Irish Sea.

Conducted as a services concession contract under the UK’s Procurement Act 2023, the process is designed to select a preferred bidder and award development rights by the end of 2026.

The Morgan site was originally awarded through Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4 in 2021 to a joint venture between EnBW and JERA Nex BP.

Development stopped in January 2026 after EnBW decided to leave its UK offshore wind portfolio.

While JERA Nex BP acquired EnBW’s stake in the neighbouring 1.5 GW Mona project, the joint venture relinquished the lease rights for Morgan back to The Crown Estate, which announced that it would re-tender the site.

Once it becomes operational, it will generate enough electricity for approximately 1.5 million homes in the U.K, driving economic growth and generating thousands of jobs.

The incoming developer will inherit a project with a good head start, avoiding initial project risks.

The offshore wind farm secured main Development Consent Order in August 2025, while a decision on the joint Development Consent Order application covering transmission assets for both Morgan and the 480-megawatt Morecambe project is expected in September 2026.

The site also has an active grid connection agreement with the National Energy System Operator.

Developers will compete through a transparent rising clock auction based on a Site Exclusivity Fee. Although bid as a lump sum, the fee will be paid over 20 years starting when the operational lease officially commences.

This commercial structure was designed to de-risk the development phase, allowing the winning developer to focus immediate capital on engineering and construction preparation.

Official procurement notices have been published on the UK government’s Find a Tender service.

The Crown Estate confirmed that this standalone tender process is entirely separate from Offshore Wind Leasing Round 6, which remains scheduled to launch in early 2027, targeting up to 6 GW of capacity.