A local campaign group in Suffolk has filed an application for a judicial review against the permits for ScottishPower Renewables’ 602MW East Anglia 1 North and 900MW East Anglia 2 wind farms.
Suffolk Energy Action Solutions wants to quash the consents granted by UK Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng as it believes the decisions were taken “unlawfully”.
The group claims it supports offshore wind but added a “judicial review is now the only way to proceed”.
A ScottishPower spokesperson told reNEWS: “We’re aware that proceedings have been raised against the Secretary of State’s decisions regarding the development consent orders for East Anglia TWO and East Anglia ONE North.
“As this is now the subject of ongoing litigation, we won’t be commenting any further.”
SEAS has argued that development consent should be made in favour of a ‘split decision’, which would give the go-ahead to the offshore array but reject the current onshore plans for transmission infrastructure so that other locations could be investigated.
“Since the Secretary of State has chosen to reject our suggested way forward it has left us no other choice,” the group added.
“SEAS has now issued an application for judicial review seeking that the decisions of the Secretary of State are quashed on the basis that they were taken unlawfully. This is likely to be decided by the courts later this year.”
SEAS added: “There is growing discontent amongst MPs, Councillors and affected communities as more needlessly destructive, uncoordinated energy plans are revealed.
“The recent National Grid pylon consultations for East Anglia Green will further diminish ancient landscapes. There are better, more modern solutions which National Grid chooses to ignore.”
Consents for the two wind farms were awarded in March following a lengthy examination process that was delayed by six months following calls from the Secretary of State for additional information on issues relating to potential wildlife impacts and increased flood risks.
The offshore wind farms will be located off the east coast of England, with EA1 North featuring up to 67 turbines and EA2 consisting of up to 75 turbines, all with maximum tip heights of 282 metres.
They will form part of SPR’s 2.9GW EA Hub project, along with the already consented 1.4GW EA3.