“An optional route” to discharge marine compensation conditions is how the Energy Act’s notes describe the new Marine Recovery Fund. That route has now been written into the Norfolk Boreas offshore wind consent after ministers approved a non‑material change on 19 December 2025.

The Order-made on 18 December and in force from 19 December-amends the 2021 Development Consent Order for the 1.4GW Norfolk Boreas scheme off the East Anglian coast. It updates legal definitions, confirms Norfolk Boreas Limited (Company No. 03722058) as the undertaker, and fixes several cable route co‑ordinates.

The most consequential shift is in how damage to the Haisborough, Hammond and Winterton Special Area of Conservation is compensated. The previous hard stop-no cable works until at least 8.3 hectares of marine debris had been cleared-has been removed. Instead, if the required debris removal cannot be fully achieved, the developer can apply to pay into the Marine Recovery Fund as a substitute measure, subject to approval by the Secretary of State.

Reporting duties tighten. Results from seabed monitoring must be submitted at least annually to the Secretary of State, the Marine Management Organisation and the relevant statutory nature conservation body, with follow‑up actions if measures are not working. A completion report is due within 12 months of finishing the compensation activities. These conditions sit alongside the new option to discharge obligations via the Fund once payments are agreed in writing.

The Fund itself was enabled by section 292 of the Energy Act 2023 and brought into operation by the Marine Recovery Funds Regulations 2025, which took effect on 17 December. Payments can be used for “strategic compensation” for offshore wind impacts, with determinations made by or on behalf of government over whether a payment discharges a project’s compensation condition.

For readers on the North Sea coast, the habitat in question matters. HHW SAC-sandbanks and reef habitat off north‑east Norfolk-includes fragile Sabellaria spinulosa reef. While Boreas cables make landfall in Norfolk, the case sets a national precedent for how developers can fund wider nature recovery where on‑site measures fall short.

Ownership has also moved on. RWE completed its purchase of the Norfolk Zone-Boreas plus Vanguard East and West-from Vattenfall in March 2024, a 4.2GW portfolio now due this decade. DESNZ lists RWE Renewables UK as the applicant for the December change.

Why it matters in the North. Hundreds of Northern firms feed offshore wind-cables in Hartlepool, fabrication on the Tyne, and a new monopile plant on Teesside now in commercial production for major projects. Smoother consenting and clearer compensation routes can bring steadier order books to yards and ports from Blyth to the Humber.

RWE has been lining up kit for the wider zone, signing for transition pieces on the Vanguard projects and signalling future CfD bids. If the Marine Recovery Fund route speeds up cabling decisions, port logistics and manufacturing schedules across the North could follow.

What to watch next: how Defra and DESNZ quantify any payment, where strategic projects receive the cash, and whether annual monitoring shows habitat gains. After a bruising year for offshore wind, a pragmatic mechanism is now in place-one the North’s supply chain wants to see used well and used quickly.