UK: E.ON Completes Sussex Public Consultation Events

Thousands of local people from across Sussex have turned out to give E.ON their views on its proposed Rampion Offshore Wind Farm. The company has hosted 12 public exhibitions across the county in the largest consultation it has ever undertaken in the UK, resulting in 4,511 members of the community coming along to find out more about the wind farm proposals.

The formal community consultation for the development does not come to an end until Sunday 6 May, so it’s not too late for local residents and businesses to have their say.

 Chris Tomlinson, E.ON Development Manager for the project, said: “I’ve been surprised and delighted by the level of response we’ve had for the Rampion project so far. I’ve spoken to hundreds of people at our exhibitions and the majority feel positive about the proposed development for the region.

 “If you haven’t yet had your say on the Rampion proposals, we’d urge you to have a look at our consultation document and submit a questionnaire before Sunday 6 May. We want as much feedback as possible so that we can design the very best wind farm project, which will make a valuable contribution to securing our electricity supply in the future.”

 Norman Baker MP for Lewes, said: “I congratulate E.ON for the way they have approached the community consultation process for the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm. They have set a very good example of best practice for others to follow and I look forward to seeing the final proposal E.ON put forward.”

The proposed offshore wind farm, which would be located 13km off the Sussex coast at its nearest point, could feature between 100 and 195 turbines depending on the model used. The site could accommodate an installed electrical capacity of up to 700MW, which E.ON estimates could generate enough electricity to supply the equivalent of around 450,000 homes1. That’s more than two-thirds of the homes in the whole of Sussex2, including the city of Brighton and Hove.

The community consultation period for the project began on Monday 13 February and will end on Sunday 6 May.

E.ON is currently installing a meteorological mast on the site to measure wind speeds, wave heights, sea currents and other offshore environmental data.

E.ON already owns and operates three offshore wind farms in UK waters; the UK’s first offshore wind farm near Blyth in Northumberland, Scroby Sands off the coast of Great Yarmouth and Robin Rigg in the Solway Firth.

E.ON is currently building the 219MW Humber Gateway offshore wind farm, located off the Holderness Coast in the East Riding of Yorkshire and is a partner in the London Array, which will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm when complete. E.ON also has a number of offshore wind projects already in operation across Europe.

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Offshore WIND staff, April 05, 2012; Image: e.on