DONG Energy will return to Norfolk in September to exhibit new information and once again seek the community’s views on its proposed offshore wind farm, the 2.4GW Hornsea Project Three.
This will be the third round of community consultation events held by DONG Energy to ensure the project develops in a way that is appropriate to the area and the people that live in the region.
Seven consultation events will take place in September, at which the company will present findings of initial surveys and assessments in what is known as a Preliminary Environmental Information report (PEIR).
This report will also form the basis of statutory consultation which will take place over summer 2017.
“In the PEIR and at the upcoming events, we’ll share the proposed onshore HVAC booster station location and onshore substation location in the vicinity of Norwich Main National Grid substation, so we would encourage anyone who wants to know more to come along if they can, and if not to get in touch,” Stuart Livesey , Project Development Manager, said.
“We’ve already listened to feedback from the public and made real changes both to the project plan and how we communicate with people. For example we heard local landowners’ concerns about the burial depth of the underground cables, and as a result we have extended the minimum depth to allow the farmers to comfortably plough their land once the cables have been installed. The proposed booster station location has been refined based on public feedback and technical assessments.”
The summary of the views expressed at the March events is now online and also includes responses to frequently asked questions and sets out the next steps for the project.
Hornsea Project Three is a proposed offshore wind farm which will be located 120km off the North Norfolk Coast, over three times the distance from Norwich to Cromer. If built to the full capacity, it would provide enough power for well over 2 million homes, DONG said.
The project team is exploring an offshore area of up to 696km2, which is more than 17 times the size of Norwich.