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Scottish Power seek consent changes for East Anglia THREE

4C Offshore | Bridget Randall-Smith
By: Bridget Randall-Smith 27/07/2020 4COffshore
Scottish Power Renewables (SPR) have submitted an application to the UK Planning Inspectorate requesting permission to change the consent parameters for its East Anglia THREE offshore wind farm. This will enable SPR to optimise the project design with its ambition to create the East Anglia (EA) Hub.

East Anglia THREE is the second project SPR is developing in the East Anglia Zone. The wind farm is located approximately 69km off the coast of Suffolk. The original consent for the project was received in August 2017 and amended in 2019 to increase the capacity from 1.2 GW to 1.4 GW.

The Application seeks to make a non-material change to the Offshore Substations Stations (OSSs) and Wind Turbine Generators (WTGs)  to allow the Project to take advantage of advancing technologies and to realise efficiencies to deliver a reduction in levelised energy costs.


The changes in OSS parameters subject to the non-material change are:
  • Reduction in the number of OSSs from 6 to 1;
  • Increase in the number of pin piles per OSS jacket leg from 1 to 4; and
  • Increase in the number of legs of the OSS from 4 to 6.

The changes in WTG parameters subject to the non-material change are:
  • Reduction in the maximum total number of WTGs from 172 to 121;
  • Increase in the maximum tip height of 247 m to 262 m (relative to Lowest Astronomic Tide);
  • Increase in the minimum air draught of all WTGs from 22 m to 24 m (relative to Mean High Water Springs); and
  • Increase in rotor diameter from 220m to 230 m.

SPR also concludes that the proposed amendments will not result in any new or materially different likely significant effects from those described in the original Environmental Statement.


A parallel application is being made to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to seek consequential changes to the associated Marine Licences.


The application follows SPR's announcement that it is taking forward
EA ONE North, EA TWO and EA THREE as a single delivery programme known as the East Anglia Hub.

To realise the benefits of this concept, elements of the
EA THREE design envelope needs to be amended to more closely align with the wider EA Hub developments.

The EA Hub concept will increase efficiencies and could deliver multiple and wide-reaching benefits such as reduced construction timescales, sustained contracting opportunities for the supply chain and a reduction in the cost of renewable energy.


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