Work to begin on Rampion wind farm
May 18, 2015
E.ON have today (18 May 2015) announced that funding is in place for the Rampion Offshore Windfarm. Work to bury 14km of cable through the South Downs National Park will now begin in June 2015.
E.ON have been granted permission to construct up to 175 wind turbines off the Sussex Coast with a connection to the National Grid running 14km through the South Downs National Park to Bolney Substation. The application was classed as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project and was therefore assessed by the Planning Inspectorate with a final decision taken by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.
The Secretary of State required E.ON to support further mitigation and monitoring through more than £358,500 payment (£242,500 for mitigation and £116,000 for monitoring) to the South Downs NPA. This is in addition to built in mitigation which will be delivered by E.ON.
Trevor Beattie, Chief Executive of the South Downs National Park Authority, said:
“Recognising the benefits of renewable energy we worked closely with Natural England and E.ON to get the protected landscapes of the National Park, including the UK’s first heritage coast, taken into account in their proposals. The Secretary of State recognised our work and the importance of our landscapes by agreeing to a package of mitigation measures to reduce the impact on both land and people. The additional reduction in number, height and changed configuration of the turbines will help to reduce their impact on the heritage coast.
“We were disappointed that E.ON did not fully mitigate the impact of the Rampion Windfarm on the South Downs but we will be working closely with them to get the best possible result for the National Park.
“This includes monitoring the burial of 14km of cabling through the National Park and restoration of this area once work has finished. We’ll also have our own projects to enhance the landscape, biodiversity and access in the area.”