Rampion Offshore Wind Farm Proposal
Updated 18th April 2012
E.on is in the process of submitting an application which would see a wind farm developed13km off the Sussex coast. The name of the farm is Rampion and would house between 100 (larger) and 195 (smaller) turbines. It would produce enough electricity to supply 450,000 homes annually as well as being a tremendous benefit to the environment by reducing 920,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. I have had a number of meetings with Rampion representatives and they have explained that the turbines will not interfere with ships approaching or leaving the shore and that the base of the turbines will actually act as artificial reefs for sea life.
Rampion will be connected into a National Grid transmission substation at Bolney and the 28km cable will travel underground in order to minimise the impact on local residents. There will, obviously, be some noise from building works onshore along with access to Brooklands Pleasure Park being restricted but, overall, disruption will be minimal.
The wind farm will present a great opportunity for the local economy through construction contracts, local operations and maintenance base, operational services and supplies. It is also a potential support for tourism as e.on’s Scroby Sands Offshore Wind Farm visitor centre attracted 40,000 visitors in 2010.
The next stage is for e.on to submit their Development Consent Order application to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) in 2012. The IPC will then make their decision in 2013 and, if they are successful, work will begin in 2014.
E.on is consulting widely on their proposal with local communities before work commences. They held 12 public consultation events across Sussex between February and March to display their plans and be on hand to answer any questions.
If you were unable to attend one of the meetings, you can still let the Rampion team know your thoughts by completing the following questionniare. The consultation closes on the 6th May 2012. http://www.eon-uk.com/downloads/Community_consultation_questionnaire_February_2012.pdf