RWE has opened a nine-week public consultation on proposals for the expansion of its Rampion Offshore Wind Farm.
An “Area of Search” eight miles off the Sussex coast has been assessed by RWE for a maximum of up to 116 turbines, the same number as the existing 400MW Rampion Wind Farm (pictured).
However, RWE plans to use the latest turbine technology, so that the Rampion 2 Wind Farm could create up to three times the amount of power.
An underground cable route is proposed to carry the power under Climping Beach to Bolney Substation in Twineham, to connect to the National Grid via a new substation required close by.
RWE development and stakeholder manager for Rampion 2 Chris Tomlinson said: “We encourage people in Sussex to visit Rampion2.com, where you can take a tour around a virtual exhibition, explore our detailed proposals with maps and videos, sign up to attend a public forum with the project team, and complete our questionnaire.”
Technical and environmental surveys and a four-week informal consultation earlier this year have helped to establish the proposed cable route, undergrounding the cables in short sections.
Directional drilling would take them under Climping Beach, railways, major roads such as the A27, the River Arun, Washington Recreation Ground and other key areas, to minimise environmental impacts and disruption to local communities.
Rampion is committed to full reinstatement of the land, so that it is returned to its former state or better along the whole cable route and the successful reinstatement of the Rampion 1 cable route demonstrates this commitment.
Since January, possible sites for the new substation have been reduced from three to two in the Twineham area following further development work and consultation with the local community.
Tomlinson added: “We will consider all the consultation feedback alongside the results of technical and environmental surveys, to further refine our proposals and select construction methodologies and environmental mitigations that reduce impacts to a minimum.
“We will submit our final proposals to the Planning Inspectorate for examination in early 2022.
“Rampion 2 is the only wind farm proposal off the UK’s south coast, where much of the country’s energy demand is.
“Should the project achieve consent, construction could start around 2025/26 with the wind farm fully operational before the end of the decade, contributing to Government targets to secure clean, green energy supplies and tackle climate change.”
Discussions with local authorities, MPs, parish councils and experts on wildlife, environment, transport, geology, archaeology, business and fishing will continue throughout the consultation and beyond.