A nine-week public consultation on proposals for the Rampion 2 Offshore Wind Farm, which could power over one million homes1 in the UK and reduce carbon emissions by around 1.8 million tonnes per year2, attracted over 12,500 visits last year.
Chris Tomlinson, Rampion 2 Development & Stakeholder Manager from RWE said, “We held the largest consultation RWE has ever undertaken in the UK and are pleased with the turnout at our online public consultation. We would like to thank everyone for their valuable feedback so far. We are considering all the consultation feedback to help shape the project and we will have an update for the local community on proposed changes in the Spring.”
The RWE consultation team managed an extensive publicity campaign reaching across the whole area of interest in Sussex, including a wide range of radio and newspaper advertising, TV coverage, outdoor events, public notices, posters, billboards and leaflets posted directly to addresses near the coast, the proposed onshore cable route and substation search areas.
Following feedback and after further review, we are aware that some coastal residents did not receive consultation leaflets as intended. As this was a commitment from us, we are writing directly to all those addresses which were omitted, to provide an additional opportunity for those individuals to have their say on our draft proposals, by the closing date of 11th April.
The consultation documents that were available between 14 July and 16 September last year have not changed and those who have previously responded to our consultation do not need to resend their response. We will consider all responses in progressing our proposals.
Continued Chris Tomlinson, “We are aiming to submit our final proposals to the Planning Inspectorate by late summer. If approved, Rampion 2 would be up and running later this decade, in time to contribute to the crucial Government target to quadruple offshore wind capacity by 2030, in its goal to reach net zero.”
For more information see rampion2.com/consultation.
RWE is one of the globally leading renewables companies and is highly experienced in the development of large-scale offshore wind. It is seeking to develop Rampion 2 on behalf of a joint venture company including a Macquarie-led consortium and Enbridge Inc., a leading North American energy delivery company.
Note to Editors:
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. The current draft proposals can be seen at Rampion2.com
Rampion 2 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 how this can be achieved.
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.
UK wind energy context:
The cost of offshore wind has halved in just two to three years and is now cheaper than nuclear and coal, while the industry is creating tens of thousands of jobs nationwide. The UK leads the world in offshore wind and the Government is committed to quadrupling offshore wind capacity to 40 gigawatts (GW) by 2030. Rampion 2 can make a major contribution to this target.
Media contact: Paula Seager, Natural PR, Email: paula@naturalpr.biz or Tel: 01273 857242
About Rampion 2:
Rampion 2 is being developed by RWE, one of the UK’s most established and experienced renewable energy producers. RWE is one of the globally leading companies in offshore wind and a world leader in renewable energy production. It is developing the project on behalf of a joint venture company including a Macquarie-led consortium (comprising Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5, the Green Investment Group and the Universities Superannuation Scheme) and a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc., a leading North American energy delivery company. Together, with owners of the existing Rampion offshore Wind Farm, they have signed an Agreement for Lease with The Crown Estate (managers of the seabed) securing an option to develop on the site.
References
1 based on an average annual domestic household electricity consumption of 3,618 kWh (BEIS, Dec 2019)
2 the calculation made using a static figure of 446g/kWh representing the energy mix in the UK (BEIS, July 2020)