Working out which way the wind blows: Navitus Bay’s windfarm DCO refusal

The Development Consent Order (DCO) application for the Navitus Bay offshore windfarm off the Dorset coast became the first to have resulted in an ultimate refusal in November (Halite Energy Group’s 2013 refusal for underground gas storage in Lancashire was quashed by the Courts and consented in 2015 on re-determination). So, what can promoters and investors in UK infrastructure learn from this? We look at an instance where subjectivity and, perhaps, an element of politics came into a consenting regime designed to provide certainty for investors.