The Crown Estate has launched a competitive tender to appoint a new developer for the construction and operation of the up to 1.5 GW Morgan offshore wind park in the Irish Sea, UK (The Crown Estate press release, 24/07/2026).
According to the statement, “Following the previous developer's decision to discontinue development earlier this year, The Crown Estate has moved quickly to return the site to market and maintain momentum on one of the most advanced offshore wind opportunities available to developers”.
- The Morgan site was initially awarded under Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4 in 2021 and was held by a joint venture between EnBW and JERA Nex BP. Development of the project was halted in January 2026 after EnBW decided to withdraw from the Morgan and Mona offshore wind projects in the UK.
- Following this decision, JERA Nex BP acquired EnBW's stake in the 1.5 GW Mona project, while the joint venture discontinued development of Morgan and returned the lease rights to The Crown Estate.
- In March 2026, The Crown Estate announced its intention to re-tender the site.
The Crown Estate stated that it intends to preserve the significant progress already achieved on the project, allowing the selected developer to build on the existing work and maintain the project's delivery schedule.
- The Morgan project received its Development Consent Order (DCO) in August 2025, while a decision on the DCO application covering its transmission infrastructure, submitted jointly with the transmission assets for the 480 MW Morecambe offshore wind park, is expected in September 2026.
- The project also benefits from a grid connection agreement with the National Energy System Operator (NESO).
Under the streamlined process, development rights could be awarded by the end of 2026.
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