UK: Navitus Bay ‘too Close to Coast’

Challenge Navitus campaigning group, determined to stop construction of the wind farm off Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight claims that the proposed farm would be too close to the coast, BBC informs.

The group is engaged in providing the public with comprehensive information on the wind farm, along with raising awareness of its potential influence on the environment and economy in general. In principle, the group members are not against renewable energy but in this case they pawn for provision of an adequate solution. Namely, they oppose to the intrusive design of the wind farm along with its negative impact on local tourism.

The group called on the people to voice their objections during the consultation process with Eneco which according to them is limited in scope. The consultation will be closed on 17 April.

“We have two areas of outstanding natural beauty and the World Heritage site [Jurassic Coast] and they are within 8 miles of the development area, which is very close,” Andrew Langley, member of Challenge Navitus said.

“This would just put a large industrial installation right in the middle of it”, he added.

Dutch energy company Eneco has the licence for construction of the wind farm, which is planned to have up to 240 wind turbines located 8.2 miles (13.2km) off Peveril Point at Swanage and 8.4 miles (13.5km) south-west of the Needles.

The estimated potential of the project would be about 900MW, being able to provide power to between 600,000 and 800,000 homes annually.

Nevertheless, the planning application will be submitted only after the consultation process, while the wind farm should be built between 2016 and 2019.

[mappress]

Offshore WIND staff, April 13, 2012