The Mona Offshore Wind Farm Order 2025

Made: 4th July 2025

Coming into force: 28th July 2025

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 114, 115, 120, 122, 123, 132, 140 and 149A and schedule 5 to the 2008 Act, makes the following Order:

PART 1 — Preliminary

Citation and commencement

1

This Order may be cited as the Mona Offshore Wind Farm Order 2025 and comes into force on 28th July 2025.

Interpretation

2

• (1) Except for Schedule 14 (deemed marine licence), which is subject to the definitions in that Schedule, in this Order–

• “1961 Act” means the Land Compensation Act 1961[^f00004];

• “1965 Act” means the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965[^f00005];

• “1980 Act” means the Highways Act 1980[^f00006];

• “1981 Act” means the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981[^f00007];

• “1989 Act” means the Electricity Act 1989[^f00008];

• “1990 Act” means the Town and Country Planning Act 1990[^f00009];

• “1991 Act” means the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991[^f00010];

• “2003 Act” means the Communications Act 2003[^f00011];

• “2004 Act” means the Energy Act 2004[^f00012];

• “2008 Act” means the Planning Act 2008[^f00013];

• “2009 Act” means the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009[^f00014];

• “ancillary works” means the ancillary works described in Part 2 (ancillary works) of Schedule 1 and any other works authorised by this Order that are not development within the meaning of section 32 of the 2008 Act;

• “apparatus” has the same meaning as in section 105(1) of the 1991 Act;

• “authorised development” means the development and associated development described in Part 1 (authorised development) of Schedule 1 and any other development authorised by this Order that is development within the meaning of section 32 of the 2008 Act;

• “authorised project” means the authorised development and the ancillary works;

• “bank holiday” means a bank holiday in England and Wales under section 1 of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971[^f00015];

• “book of reference” means the document certified as the book of reference by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “building” includes any structure or erection or any part of a building, structure or erection;

• “buoy” means any floating device used for navigational purposes or measurement purposes, including wave buoys, LiDAR and guard buoys;

• “business day” means Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays and other public holidays;

• “cable” means cables up to 400kV for the transmission of electricity and includes direct lay cables, cables laid in cable ducts or protective covers, and further includes fibre optic and other communications cables either within the cable or laid alongside;

• “cable circuits” means a number of electrical conductors necessary to transmit electricity between two points within the authorised development comprising up to three electrical conductors, which may be attached together or take the form of single cables, and in either case the circuit may include one or more auxiliary cables for the purpose of control, monitoring, protection or general communications;

• “cable crossings” means the crossing of existing cables and sub-sea cables, pipelines or other existing infrastructure by the cables authorised by this Order together with cable protection;

• “cable ducts” means conduits for the installation of cables;

• “cable protection” means measures to protect cables from physical damage including but not limited to concrete mattresses, with or without frond devices, and/or rock placement, the use of bagged solutions filled with grout or other materials;

• “carriageway” has the same meaning as in the 1980 Act;

• “commence” meansfor the purposes of the requirements, the first carrying out of any activities in relation to the offshore works, save for non-intrusive pre-construction surveys, unexploded ordnance surveys and low order unexploded ordnance clearance;for any other purposes, the first carrying out of any material operation (as defined in section 155 of the 2008 Act) forming part of the authorised project except for onshore site preparation works,and the words “commenced” and “commencement” must be construed accordingly;

• “commercial operation” means in relation to any part of the authorised project, the exportation, transmission or conversion, on a commercial basis, of electricity;

• “commissioning” means the process of assuring that all systems and components of the authorised development are tested to verify that they function and are operable in accordance with the design objectives, specifications and operational requirements of the undertaker;

• “deemed marine licence” means the marine licence set out in Schedule 14 (Marine Licence ORML2429G: Mona Offshore Wind Farm Generation Assets);

• “design principles” means the document certified as the design principles by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “electronic transmission” means a communication transmitted—by means of an electronic communications network; orby other means but while in electronic form;

• “environmental statement” means the document certified as the environmental statement by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order including the documents listed in Table 6 of Schedule 15;

• “foundation” means any one or more of: a multi-leg pin piled jacket foundation, multi-leg suction bucket jacket foundation, or gravity base foundation;

• “gravity base foundation” means a structure principally of steel, concrete, or steel and concrete with a base which rests on the seabed either due to its own weight with or without added ballast or additional skirts and associated equipment including scour protection, J-tubes, corrosion protection systems and access platforms and equipment;

• “greenhouse gas reduction strategy” means the document certified as the greenhouse gas reduction strategy by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “highway” and “highway authority” have the same meaning as in the 1980 Act[^f00016];

• “HVAC” means high voltage alternating current;

• “inter-array cables” means the cables linking the wind turbine generators to each other and to the offshore substation platforms;

• “interconnector cables” means the cables linking the offshore substation platforms to each other;

• “jacket foundation” means a steel jacket/lattice-type structure constructed principally of steel, fixed to the seabed with steel pin piles or steel suction buckets and associated equipment including scour protection, J-tubes, corrosion protection systems and access platforms and equipment;

• “joint bay” means an excavation formed to enable the jointing of the cables;

• “jointing” means a process by which two or more cables are connected to each other by means of cable joints within a joint bay;

• “LAT” means lowest astronomical tide;

• “land plan (onshore)” means the document certified as the land plan (onshore) by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “landscape enhancement scheme principles” means the document certified as the landscape enhancement scheme principles by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “LiDAR” means a light detection and ranging system used to measure weather and sea conditions;

• “location plan” means the document certified as the location plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “maintain” includes works to:inspect, upkeep, repair, adjust or alter the authorised project;remove, reconstruct or replace any part of the offshore works in accordance with condition 10, Part 2 of Schedule 14; andremove, reconstruct or replace any part of the onshore works (excluding removal, reconstruction or replacement of whole buildings associated with the onshore substation),provided that such works do not give rise to any materially new or materially different environmental effects to those identified in the environmental statement; and any derivative of “maintain” is to be construed accordingly;

• “MCA” means the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the executive agency of the Department for Transport;

• “mean high water springs” or “MHWS” means the highest level which spring tides reach on average over a period of time;

• “mean low water springs” or “MLWS” means the lowest level that spring tides reach on average over a period of time;

• “measures to minimise disturbance to marine mammals and rafting birds from transiting vessels” means the document certified as the measures to minimise disturbance to marine mammals and rafting birds from transiting vessels by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “National Grid Substation” means the substation at Bodelwyddan which is owned and operated by National Grid;

• “NRW” means Natural Resources Body for Wales or any successor body to its functions;

• “offshore in-principle monitoring plan” means the document certified as the offshore in-principle monitoring plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “offshore order limits and grid coordinates plan” means the document certified as the offshore order limits and grid coordinates plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “offshore substation platform” means a structure above LAT and attached to the seabed by means of a foundation, with one or more decks and open with modular equipment or fully clad, containing—electrical equipment required to switch, transform or convert electricity generated at the wind turbine generators to a higher voltage and provide reactive power compensation, including high voltage power transformers, high voltage switchgear and busbars, substation auxiliary systems and low voltage distribution, instrumentation, metering equipment and control systems, standby generators, shunt reactors, auxiliary and uninterruptible power supply systems;accommodation, storage, workshop auxiliary equipment and facilities for operating, maintaining and controlling the substation or wind turbine generators, including navigation, aviation and safety marking and lighting, systems for vessel access, charging and retrieval, cranes, potable water supply, black water separation, stores, fuels and spares, communications systems and control hub facilities and other associated equipment and facilities;

• “offshore works” means Work Nos. 1 and 2 and any related further associated development in connection with those Works;

• “onshore crossing schedule” means the document certified as the onshore crossing schedule by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “onshore site preparation works” means operations consisting of site clearance, demolition, early planting of landscaping works, archaeological investigations, environmental surveys, ecological mitigation, investigations for the purpose of assessing ground conditions, remedial work in respect of any contamination or other adverse ground conditions, the diversion and laying of utilities and services, site security works, the erection of any temporary means of enclosure, the erection of temporary hard standing, the erection of welfare facilities, creation of site accesses and the temporary display of site notices or advertisements;

• “onshore substation” means an HVAC substation compound sited at Bodelwyddan containing electrical equipment (including power transformers, gantries, switchgear, reactive compensation equipment, electrical protection equipment devices (disconnectors, circuit breakers), cooling, harmonic filters, cables and back-up generators), control buildings, lightning protection masts, communications masts, access including internal roads, fencing and other associated equipment, structures or buildings;

• “onshore substation temporary construction compound” means a temporary construction compound and laydown area of up to 150,000 square metres needed to store equipment and materials and for site accommodation during the construction of the onshore substation;

• “onshore works” means Work Nos. 3 to 38 inclusive and any related further associated development in connection with those Works;

• “Order land” means the land shown on the land plan (onshore) which is within the limits of land to be acquired or used and described in the book of reference;

• “Order limits” means the limits shown on the works plan – onshore and works plan - offshore and intertidal within which the authorised project may be carried out;

• “operation” means the undertaking of activities authorised by this Order which are not part of the construction, commissioning or decommissioning of the authorised development;

• “outline code of construction practice” means the document certified as the outline code of construction practice by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order including the annexes to the outline code of construction practice listed in Table 7 of Schedule 15;

• “outline fisheries liaison and co-existence plan” means the document certified as the outline fisheries liaison and co-existence plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “outline highways access management plan” means the document certified as the outline highways access management plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “outline landscape and ecology management plan” means the document certified as the outline landscape and ecology management plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “outline marine mammal mitigation protocol” means the document certified as the outline marine mammal mitigation protocol by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “outline offshore written scheme of investigation and protocol for archaeological discoveries” means the document certified as the outline offshore written scheme of investigation and protocol for archaeological discoveries by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “outline offshore operations and maintenance plan” means the document certified as the outline offshore operations and maintenance plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “outline onshore written scheme of investigation” means the document certified as the outline onshore written scheme of investigation by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “outline operation drainage management strategy” means the document certified as the outline operation drainage management strategy by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “outline skills and employment plan” means the document certified as the outline skills and employment plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “outline underwater sound management strategy” means the document certified as the outline underwater sound management strategy by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “outline vessel traffic management plan” means the document certified as the outline vessel traffic management plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;

• “pin pile” means steel or concrete cylindrical piles driven and/or drilled into the seabed to secure jacket foundations;

• “platform” means an offshore structure housing or incorporating electrical equipment such as switchgear and transformers and high voltage reactive controls, electrical systems such as metering and control systems, J-tubes, landing facilities for vessels and helicopters, re-fuelling facilities, vessel charging facilities, communication and control systems, auxiliary and uninterruptible power supplies, energy storage systems, standby electricity generation equipment, cranes, storage for waste and consumables including fuel, marking and lighting and other associated equipment and facilities;

• “primary temporary construction compound” means a temporary construction compound and laydown area of up to 22,500 square metres needed to store equipment and materials and for site accommodation during the construction of the authorised project;

• “relevant planning authority” means in any given provision of this Order (including the requirements), the local planning authority—for the area of land to which the provision relates is situated; andwith the relevant legislative competence under the 1990 Act for the matter to which that provision relates;

• “requirements” means those matters set out in Schedule 2 (Requirements) to this Order;

• “scour protection” means measures to prevent loss of seabed sediment around any structure placed in or on the seabed including by the use of bagged solutions filled with grout or other materials, protective aprons, mattresses with or without frond devices, and rock and gravel placement;

• “secondary temporary construction compound” means one of up to four temporary construction compounds and laydown areas each of up to 15,000 square metres needed to store equipment and materials and for site accommodation during the construction of the authorised project;

• “special category land plan” means the document certified as the special category land plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;