Energy secretary Ed Miliband has extended the deadline for making a decision on whether to grant a development consent order for RWE’s 1.1GW Five Estuaries wind farm off east England by three months.
The statutory deadline for a final determination was 17 September. However, Miliband has set a new deadline of 17 December to allow time to request further information.
He told Parliament earlier today (11 September): “I have decided to allow an extension. This is to allow time to request further information that was not provided for consideration during the examination period and to allow all interested parties the opportunity to review and comment on such information.
“While it is not my preference to extend, I am clear that applications for consent for energy projects submitted under the Planning Act 2008 must meet the necessary standards.”
If consented, the 79-turbine array is expected to enter production by 2030.
The project is an extension of RWE’s operational 353MW Galloper wind farm and is due to connect to the National Grid’s East Anglia Connection Node near Lawford in Essex.