The decision to grant a development consent order (DCO) for the extension of the Rampion 2 offshore wind farm has been delayed.
A final decision was due to be made by yesterday (6 February), but the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has chosen to push back the final decision date to 4 April in order to allow developer RWE more time to submit information about the proposed project to the Planning Inspectorate.
The DCO application proposes adding an additional 90 turbines to the existing 400MW, 116-turbine development located off the coast of Sussex. In August of last year, the six month examination period for the project was concluded, during which time examiners received complaints from both local residents concerned about the proposed onshore cabling route, as well as Natural England, which raised objections about the location of the site near the Sussex Heritage Coast.
If approved, the extension could begin construction as soon as 2026 and become operational by 2030.
UK is major player in offshore wind
This development forms part of the UK’s impressive offshore wind pipeline, which is one of the largest in the world.
A recent report from RenewableUK has revealed that the UK now has a 96GW pipeline of offshore wind developments, the second-largest in the world. This figure covers developments at all stages of progress, from early planning to fully operational, and is spread across 123 projects. The UK is beaten only by world leader China, which has a 247GW pipeline across 437 developments and is trailed by the US, which has a 79GW capacity pipeline.
Europe remains a strong market for wind, with Germany and Sweden ranking fourth and fifth in offshore pipelines, with 68GW and 55GW, respectively.
Overall, global installed offshore wind capacity rose by 15% in the last 12 months, growing from 70.2% to 80.9GW. Unsurprisingly, a significant amount of this growth came from China, which added 6.9GW of capacity last year, but the Netherlands also added significant capacity, with 1.7GW of new offshore wind coming online. Combined, China and the Netherlands were responsible for 63% of the growth in installed offshore wind capacity.
