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DONG Energy proposes onshore route

By: Tom Russell 27/02/2017 DONG Energy

General Turbines Windfarms

DONG Energy has published an indicative area of where the onshore cables carrying electricity from its Hornsea Project Three offshore wind farm could be located. The company is also seeking feedback from local communities in Norfolk, UK.

According to DONG Hornsea Project Three has the potential to be a 2.4GW project that could provide enough power for well over two million UK homes, five times the number of homes in Norfolk.

The wind farm is to be located over 120km off the North Norfolk Coast in the North Sea, so will not be visible from shore. The cables connecting the turbines to the National Grid will be buried underground and will connect into the existing Norwich Main National Grid Substation, just south of Norwich. The project will also require a new onshore substation in the vicinity of National Grid's.

In Autumn 2016, DONG Energy held its first round of community consultation events at six locations across Norfolk, and subsequently the project has refined its original search area. The team will present these refined plans at the upcoming consultation events and are seeking local views on the latest proposal.

Stuart Livesey, Hornsea Project Three Project Development Manager said: "As one would expect, there are many stages of assessment and consultation before building an offshore windfarm, to ensure that any disturbance or potential environmental impacts are identified, and then minimised or mitigated.

"In September last year, we laid out how we were going to consult with the local community in our Statement of Community Consultation. At that stage, we were seeking views on a wider search area. These events helped improve our understanding of the local environment and local concerns, after all the people living and working in these areas are more aware of local issues and sensitivities.

"We used those responses to refine the onshore search area, so now we're looking to gain feedback on this more developed proposal."

An application for development consent of Hornsea Project Three, under the Planning Act 2008, is expected to be submitted as early as 2018. If this is successful, construction of the offshore wind farm is anticipated to take place between 2022 and 2025.

"The project has the potential to make a real contribution to UK climate change targets", Livesey continued, "but while it will benefit the UK as a whole, we understand people might be worried about the cables coming onshore in Norfolk. That's why we want people to attend our events, so that they can let us know their concerns and find out more.

"For example, many people don't realise that in some cases we can bury the cables without causing any disturbance to land or vegetation, or that the land will return to a state where it can be farmed or grazed on afterwards. Thanks to feedback from local farmers we've already made changes, such as increasing the depth at which the cables will be buried by half a meter.

"We know that land owners know their land best, so we want to engage with them now on what we're proposing so they understand our plans and we hear their comments.

"I'll be at the upcoming events in Norfolk and I personally look forward to meeting people there."

Hornsea Project Three is part of DONG Energy's Hornsea Offshore Wind Zone, approximately 120km from the Yorkshire coast. The Hornsea zone was previously split into four areas allocated for offshore wind farm development: Hornsea Project One, Hornsea Project Two, Hornsea Project Three and Hornsea Project Four.

DONG Energy announced in February that it has taken a final investment decision to build the 1.2GW Hornsea Project One, which will be capable of powering well over 1 million UK homes. Offshore construction is anticipated to begin in 2018 with full commissioning as early as 2020.

Hornsea Project Two secured build consent in August 2016. If constructed the wind farm will have an installed capacity 1,800MW capable of meeting the energy demands of around 1.8 million UK homes.

For more information please follow the links provided. You can also view projects worldwide using our interactive map.

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DONG Energy proposes onshore route

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