Vattenfall, a Swedish clean energy company, owns and operates three offshore wind farms off the Kent coast. The company wants to build and operate an extension to the Thanet Offshore Wind Farm, sited 10-15 kilometres off Foreness Point, involving 34 additional turbines to the 100 turbines already deployed. The company is seeking comments and questions from local people about its plans. The information days will be held from 20th January in the Thanet area.
“Vattenfall’s Kent Cluster of offshore wind power has made an important contribution to the Thanet and Kent economy and community” said Helen Jameson, the Project Director for the Thanet Extension Offshore Wind Farm. “We think there is an opportunity to add more green energy capacity to the existing Thanet Offshore Wind Farm to deliver cheap, green, economy boosting electricity. We are at the early stages but it’s important we understand local people’s concerns and hopes for the extension.”
More than 70 people are currently working at Vattenfall’s busy Ramsgate Harbour operations base supporting the three wind farms in the Kent Cluster: Thanet, Kentish Flats and Kentish Flats Extension. The company wants to be carbon neutral by 2050. Its growing European wind power business plans to treble its wind capacity by 2025 to 7 GW, contributing towards Vattenfall’s sustainability objectives.
The company has already requested an opinion from Government advisors about the scope of the environmental impact assessment, known as a scoping request. As the extension would be considered a major infrastructure investment by planners, the planning process will be handled by the Planning Inspectorate and a Development Consent Order (DCO) is required to be granted by UK Government’s Energy Secretary.
Vattenfall has been operating the existing Thanet Offshore Wind Farm since 2010. At 300 MW, with 100 wind turbines, it was in 2010 the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
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