SPOTLIGHT ON SOUTH EAST COAST FEATURE SPONSOR
RAMPION’S IMPACTS AND BENEFITS STUDIED IN DETAIL
If the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm gains development consent in the summer of 2014, the world’s largest installation of its type to date is expected to generate enough renewable energy from 2017 onwards to power 450,000 homes.
Rampion will inevitably have regional aspects, impacts and benefits. As the current proposal stands, up to 175 turbines off the Sussex coast will have a combined electrical capacity of up to 700 MW and generate more than 2,100 GWh – enough energy for two-thirds of the county’s households.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA) RSK was chosen to conduct a comprehensive EIA that a project of this size requires. In parallel, the Planning Inspectorate is overseeing an equally rigorous and transparent examination of the proposals.
The Inspectorate’s findings will then inform the Energy Secretary, who will have environmental and socio-economic issues very much in mind when taking the final decision on the project early next summer.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETAIL Standing from 13 to 26 miles out to sea close to Brighton and Hove on a seabed footprint of 167 km2, Rampion will be seen from the South Downs National Park and along the Channel coast.
The £2 billion infrastructure development, named after the county flower of Sussex, is of part of the Government’s Round 3 tender cycle designed to step up the scale of offshore wind investments.
Its size, being over 100 MW, makes it a nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). As such, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Planning Inspectorate. As part of the NSIP process, an application for a Development Consent Order was submitted to the Inspectorate by Rampion’s developer, E.ON Climate & Renewables, in March 2013.
At this stage, discussions on outstanding impacts and issues are taking place between consultees, the inspectorate and the developer.
DETAILED ONSHORE/OFFSHORE EIA Given Rampion’s regional dimension, RSK’s task has been to provide the Inspectorate and consultation process with detailed, authoritative information from a wide-ranging onshore and offshore EIA.
Highly-experienced with large projects, the UK-based independent environmental and engineering consultancy has transferred its knowledge of the offshore oil & gas sector, and long linear features such as pipelines, to assessing wind turbine foundation installation and offshore/onshore cable laying.
The Rampion project will include up to 175 turbines and their foundations, an array of subsea cables, four export cables, and an underground onshore cable terminating in a new sub-station. The new substation will be adjacent to National Grid’s existing Bolney substation where Rampion’s power will enter the transmission network. The EIA has had a correspondingly broad scope, ranging from potential impacts on the Heritage Coast and South Downs National Park to effects of offshore underwater noise on receptors, such as the seasonal black bream breeding grounds and herring spawning grounds.
BENEFITS AND IMPACTS
Offshore, it is recognised that there will be temporary impacts during construction and decommissioning, such as disturbance to other sea users and the seabed. During operation the wind farm will be visible from the coast.
Onshore, there will be temporary beach disruption at the cable landfall and general noise and visual impacts, as well as effects on Public Rights of Way along the route during cable installation. Short-term impacts on terrestrial ecology are also anticipated.
In each case, mitigated steps are being discussed with consultees and the regulator. However, the project has major benefits and will make a major contribution to reducing the UK’s Co2 profile and secure energy supplies, while also creating jobs and investment in the area.
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www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
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