The Hornsea Three guarantee covering compensation for compulsory acquisition has been approved in revised form by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. The decision, dated 5 November 2026, concerns the Hornsea Three offshore wind project and is a post-consent decision, not a new planning permission.
The approval satisfies a financial-security requirement in Article 43 of the Hornsea Three Offshore Wind Farm Order 2020. It replaces an earlier approval given in February 2023 and allows the project company to exercise specified compulsory acquisition powers where they are needed and the other statutory requirements are met.
The distinction matters to landowners, infrastructure promoters and practitioners. Major development consent can be in place for years while separate legal conditions still control the use of powers to acquire land, secure rights and take temporary possession. The November decision shows how those protections operate on a major energy project.
How the Hornsea Three guarantee works
Article 43 of the Hornsea Three Offshore Wind Farm Order 2020 requires an approved guarantee, or another approved form of security, before certain compulsory acquisition powers may be exercised over land. Its purpose is to provide financial protection for liabilities to pay compensation resulting from the use of those powers.
The statutory requirement is more than a promise from the developer that compensation will be paid. Article 43 specifies that the security must be approved by the Secretary of State, including its amount. It also requires the guarantee or alternative security to be enforceable by people to whom compensation is payable, rather than existing only as a private arrangement among companies.
In the decision published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Secretary of State found that the new package provided sufficient security for claims by affected landowners. John Wheadon, the department’s Head of Energy Infrastructure Planning and Innovation, confirmed that the undertaker “may exercise the compulsory acquisition powers” in accordance with the specified articles if required.
The Hornsea Three guarantee is therefore a specific approval under an existing Development Consent Order (DCO). It does not grant new land acquisition powers, alter the development consent itself or establish that any particular parcel of land has already been acquired.
Which land and rights powers are affected
The decision identifies Articles 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 26, 27 and 28 of the 2020 Order. Together these concern compulsory acquisition of land and rights, private rights, subsoil interests, rights relating to streets, temporary use during construction and maintenance, and provisions relating to statutory undertakers.
For affected landowners, the critical point is that compensation protection has to be in place before the listed powers can be used. The approval of security does not determine an individual claimant’s entitlement, compensation amount or any dispute about the manner in which a particular power has been exercised.
Article 43 also deals with duration. It does not require a guarantee or alternative security to remain in place for more than 15 years after the relevant power is exercised. That limit should not be confused with a blanket 15-year expiry of all compensation rights or with a new time limit on the entire project.
The Hornsea Three guarantee will be relevant to the compulsory purchase and rights-acquisition process, but other conditions in the Order and the general statutory framework still need to be satisfied. The 5 November letter does not remove those separate requirements.
What changed in the November approval
The Secretary of State reviewed three executed credit-support documents dated 27 October 2026: a letter of credit involving Lloyds Bank and Hornsea Project Three (UK) Limited; a parent company guarantee deed of amendment involving Ørsted Power UK Limited; and shareholder letter of credit support involving AP Falkor Bidco and Ørsted Hornsea Three Holdings Limited.
Those documents were supplied in connection with the project’s obligations under Article 43. The ministerial decision states that the package is sufficient to secure compensation for loss and damage associated with the exercise of the Order’s compulsory acquisition powers. The signed two-page decision letter gives the precise description of the documents.
Importantly, the decision expressly supersedes an earlier approval dated 23 February 2023 concerning a guarantee of 16 February 2023. Reporting this as the first occasion on which security was approved would therefore be wrong. The new event is approval of a revised package, not the creation of a power that did not previously exist.
The published letter does not disclose the approved financial amount or every underlying contractual term. It would be unsafe to calculate a guarantee value from the project’s construction costs, ownership arrangements or generating capacity. Those are different measures.
Hornsea Three is already under construction
The development is one of the largest offshore wind projects in the North Sea. Ørsted has said that Hornsea Three is designed for approximately 2.9 gigawatts of generation, with 197 large turbine foundations. Its published construction updates confirm that offshore foundation installation was under way during 2026, following earlier work on export cables and converter infrastructure.
The original DCO was granted in December 2020. Since then, the project has progressed through financing, construction and compliance stages. A post-consent decision in November 2026 should not be presented as though the planning application has only now been approved.
For context, Ørsted reported the first monopile installation in May 2026. That earlier construction milestone is useful background, but the operative event in this article remains the 5 November guarantee decision.
Why this security decision matters in planning practice
A Development Consent Order combines a range of permissions and powers for a nationally significant infrastructure project, but not every power becomes immediately exercisable simply because the Order has been made. Requirements, approvals, notices, compensation safeguards and detailed delivery processes can follow for years.
The Hornsea Three guarantee illustrates one of those remaining legal gates. Its approval helps the promoter establish that the financial precondition attached to compulsory acquisition powers is met. Equally, the condition is intended to protect people whose land or rights may be affected by those powers.
Practitioners dealing with major infrastructure need to read both the original Order and the later approval documents. Planning Geek’s guide to National Policy Statements for nationally significant infrastructure explains the policy setting in which DCO projects are considered. The post-consent acquisition safeguards arise from the particular Order and relevant legislation, not from the policy statement itself.
For landowners, the Hornsea Three guarantee approval is not a decision that a specific acquisition is lawful in every respect. The precise land interest, the statutory power used, the notice procedure and any compensation dispute must still be examined individually.
What happens next
The department’s decision permits the relevant powers to be exercised if required, subject to the provisions of the 2020 Order. It does not announce a new compulsory purchase notice, list affected holdings, settle compensation claims or say that every part of the authorised development will be built in the form originally expected.
The Hornsea Three guarantee should consequently be recorded as a meaningful post-consent compliance decision, distinct from the original DCO and from construction progress. The statutory Order, the signed 5 November approval and any subsequent land notices remain the primary documents for establishing precisely what can be done on a given parcel of land.
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