The team behind proposals for the expansion of Rampion Offshore Wind Farm are urging people to have their say with just two weeks left until the public consultation closes at Rampion2.com on September 16. The project could power over one million homes in the UK and reduce carbon emissions by around 1.8 million tonnes per year.
“Our consultation website has attracted over 5,500 views over the past seven weeks and we have run a major publicity campaign, advertising on roadside banners, buses, radio, newspapers and online media, as well as attracting extensive news on regional tv stations,” said Chris Tomlinson, Development & Stakeholder Manager, Rampion 2, RWE.
“We have held public forums, meetings with dozens of local parish councils, MPs, interest groups and specialists, including environmental groups, archaeologists, sea users, business and tourism operators, public rights of way and many more, to try and identify all the issues that should be considered in our designs.
“We have also held outdoor events talking with people in coastal towns and villages in East and West Sussex and have received a huge amount of feedback from people who understand the importance of creating clean, renewable energy in the face of climate change, as well as a lot of important information that will help shape the project to mitigate its impact on local communities.”
An ‘Area of Search’ eight miles off the Sussex coast has been assessed by renewable energy producer RWE for a maximum of up to 116 turbines, the same number as the existing Rampion Wind Farm but using 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.
Visit Rampion2.com to see the proposals and share your views.
Technical and environmental surveys and a four-week informal consultation earlier this year 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.
Final proposals will be submitted 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.
Offshore wind is at the heart of the Government’s strategy for delivering net zero in the UK. Rampion 2 developers RWE are one of the global leaders in the delivery of offshore wind; this includes projects along the east coast, North Wales and at Dogger Bank.
