Morgan Offshore Wind Farm (Generation Assets) Environmental Impact Assessment

What were the potential socio-economic impacts to consider in the development of Morgan Offshore Wind Farm?

The project represents a multi-billion-pound investment, which provides a significant opportunity to support and grow the UK offshore renewables supply chain – with potential to support thousands of direct, indirect and induced jobs across the UK. As such, it was important to assess the potential beneficial economic effects of the project.

The level of employment which could be generated by the project has the potential to result in workforce migration, which could lead to effects on population, housing, and local services. It was therefore necessary to assess social effects associated with the project to ensure potential adverse effects were fully considered.

In addition to these relatively typical socio-economic impacts, the location of the array in the Irish Sea has the potential to result in highly project-specific impacts on lifeline ferry services to the Isle of Man.

Our work formed a key chapter in the Environmental Impact Assessment which informed the consenting process for the wind farm.

How did we assess potential impacts of Morgan Offshore Wind Farm on lifeline ferry sevices to the Isle of Man?

Stakeholders raised concerns regarding potential impacts of the scheme on lifeline ferry services, including the Isle of Man Department for Infrastructure, Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce, Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, and numerous members of the public. This presented a notable consenting risk to the application.

Lifeline ferry services are distinctive due to their contribution to making island communities ‘viable’ by prioritising essential requirements for the sustainable functioning of an island community.

The Isle of Man utilises ferry services for:

• Residents who need to access mainland services, employment, social, and leisure opportunities.
• Businesses and public services which move goods on and off the island, generate business travel and require connectivity for visitors and staff.
• Tourists who want to visit the island, contributing to the island’s visitor economy.

As well as their role in supporting essential requirements for island life, lifeline ferries serve an important economic role in connecting island-based businesses with mainland markets.

With there being no guidance and no existing precedent to inform an assessment, we developed a logic diagram to establish a clear methodology – as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 – Assessment of lifeline ferry service impacts on the Isle of Man – logic diagram.

We liaised with Isle of Man Government representatives and the project’s shipping and navigation technical experts to develop a profile of existing lifeline ferry services, and we used Isle of Man Government data to develop a profile of the Island’s economy, with a focus on how sectors interact with ferry transport.

This analysis established the primary sensitivity would be in parts of the economy which rely on time-sensitive freight items, where delays or cancellation would have a material impact on end users e.g. activities reliant on perishable foods, live animals, just-in-time inventory, mail, and pharmaceuticals and medication. The

Many parts of the economy would have low sensitivity as they either have limited interactions with ferry services, or rely on freight items which are not time-sensitive e.g. bulk commodities, non-perishable foods, building materials, non-urgent retail merchandise, and industrial equipment.

Taking a conservative approach given the lack of guidance and precedent, our assessment concluded the project was unlikely to have significant adverse effects on the Isle of Man economy during both construction and operation phases. This applied to the project in isolation, and when taking cumulative schemes into account.

During the examination process, the Isle of Man Government (via its Territorial Sea Committee) agreed with the assessment that, subject to a commercial side agreement between the Applicant and the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, post mitigation there would be no residual effects on socio-economic receptors.

Was the Morgan Offshore Wind Farm application approved?

The Morgan Offshore Wind Farm (Generation Assets) planning application was submitted in May 2024, and was consented in August 2025.

Get in touch

If you would like to discuss how Hardisty Jones can provide specialist support to help you deliver robust socio-economic inputs to a major energy infrastructure project, please contact our service lead Joshua Harding-Jones.