Ørsted launches largest annual Community Benefit Fund

At the end of last year, Ørsted gave the go ahead on the world’s single largest offshore wind farm, Hornsea 3, which will be located in the North Sea, approximately 121 km off the Norfolk coast and 160 km off the Yorkshire coast. The wind farm will be capable of generating 2.9 GW of green electricity, enough to meet the average daily needs of 3.3 million homes. As part of the project, Ørsted have launched Hornsea 3 Community Fund which will award a total of £7 million over a targeted ten-year period.

The fund will be separated into three pots: the main fund of £500,000, a Skills Fund of £100,000 and a new pot called the Legacy Fund of £100,000 which will go to one capital green project per year, to encourage long term positive influence in the region.

Imran Nawaz, Senior Advisor at Ørsted, said: “Following an extensive community consultation, we are delighted to announce the launch of the Hornsea 3 Community Fund, a testament to our commitment to uplifting communities in the North Norfolk and East Anglia region. The new Fund highlights our dedication to providing support to local communities in areas in which we construct and operate. We’re looking forward to receiving applications for innovative, strong, and locally significant projects across the funding rounds. We have commissioned the services of GrantScape, as Fund Administrator, who will continue to bring their skills in supporting local groups and coordinating the fund application process.”

Ørsted’s existing three UK offshore community benefit funds help support local groups and organisations in the coastal regions where they construct and operate their offshore wind farms.  It’s important to Ørsted to make a positive impact in the communities. The three Community Benefit Funds — Burbo Bank Extension Community Fund, East Coast Community Fund and Walney Extension Community Fund — have so far awarded over £9.5 million to nearly 700 social and environmental projects along the East and West coasts. Find out more from the latest newsletter at: rsted-autumn-2023-newsletter-final.pdf (azureedge.net)

Similar to the other three funds, Hornsea 3 Community Funds will be administered by independent grant-making charity GrantScape, with decision-making supported by local Advisory Groups made up of community specialists who benefit from a strong and deep understanding of the local community and environment.

Matt Young, GrantScape’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are thrilled that the Hornsea 3 Community Fund is now open to applications and are excited to see the local community and environmental benefits this investment will create over many years to come. I encourage groups to get in touch with the GrantScape Team by phone or by email should they need help or advice in completing their application, or simply want to talk over a potential project idea to check whether it meets the criteria”.

Find out more, visit our page about the community benefit funds.

To apply, visit GrantScape's website.