Newspaper
London Array gets the offshore green light
The world’s largest offshore wind farm has won planning consent from the Government.
The London Array will comprise 341 turbines located 20km off the Kent and Essex coasts, occupying a 232km2 area between Margate and Clacton. A smaller wind farm, covering 35km2 off the coast of Thanet in Kent, has also been approved.
Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling said: “Britain is second only to Denmark in the offshore wind sector and projects such as the London Array underline the real progress that is being made.
“Achieving rapid growth in offshore renewables is essential if we are to reduce carbon emissions and improve the security of our energy supplies.”
Environment Secretary David Miliband added: “We expect that this announcement will be the first of many large-scale offshore wind farms in the UK and will provide real impetus for the continued developments in the offshore renewable energy sector that will benefit generations to come.
“By issuing the licences to build the world’s largest offshore wind farms in the Thames Estuary, we are reinforcing the UK’s commitment to renewable energy and combating climate change and ocean acidification,” Miliband continued. “Working with the developers and those engaged in the broader environmental debate throughout the challenging application process ensured that all the environmental issues were addressed, as well as the impacts to the marine environment.”
London Array Ltd, the consortium behind the scheme, is made up of E.ON UK, Shell WindEnergy and CORE Ltd.
Andrew Murfin, a director of the consortium, said: “This is a significant step forward in the development of the London Array offshore wind farm. The UK Government has a target of 10 per cent of energy generation from renewables by 2010 and an aspiration to double that by 2020. To help reach these targets it is imperative that large-scale wind farms such as the London Array get the go-ahead and are built in the not-too-distant future.
“The UK faces two major long-term challenges – tackling CO2 emissions and delivering secure supplies of cleaner energy,” Murfin continued. “Harnessing our indigenous renewable energy sources will make a significant contribution towards meeting both of these challenges.”
The consent for the onshore sub-station, necessary to connect the London Array into the national grid, remains outstanding and will now be subject to a public inquiry.
Meanwhile, proposals for a £500m wind farm on the Hebridean island of Lewis have been revised after facing significant opposition from the RSPB and local residents.
The number of turbines has been reduced from 234 to 181 in order to address concerns about the impact on nearby peatland and local birdlife.
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