Plans to expand the UK’s largest offshore windfarm have been scrapped – because of the length of time it would take to assess the impact on wildlife.
The partners behind the London Array project in the Thames Estuary admit the ‘technical challenges and environmental uncertainties’ on the site had led them to axe plans to expand the site’s capacity.
The 175-turbine array, off the Kent and Essex coasts, started operations in April, with the £2.2billion project – operated by E.On, Dong and UAE clean energy firm Masdar – officially opened by Prime Minister David Cameron in July.
The project can produce 630MW – enough power for around 500,000 homes – but the partners had originally planned to increase that by a further 240MW with the proposed second phase expansion.
Now that has been scrapped, with the developers having formally requested the Crown Estate terminate the lease agreement for phase two and cancelling reserved grid capacity at a substation in Kent.
“Phase two has always been subject to a Grampian condition requiring London Array to demonstrate that any change caused by the additional turbines to the habitat of the red-throated divers that over-winter in this part of the Thames Estuary would not compromise its status as a designated environmental special protection area,” said Array general manager Mike O’Hare.
“We believe it will take until at least January 2017 for that data to be collected and although initial findings from the existing phase one site look positive, there is no guarantee at the end of three years that we will be able to satisfy the authorities that any impact on the birds would be acceptable.
“In the absence of any certainty that phase two would be able to go ahead, our shareholders have decided to surrender the Crown Estate agreement for lease on the site, terminate the grid connection option, and concentrate on other development projects in their individual portfolios. Our existing operations at Ramsgate and staffing levels are unaffected.”
Last month Danish power firm Dong Energy, one of the partners in the project, sold off a 25% stake in the windfarm to Canadian pension fund La Caisse for £644million.
The move represents another blow to large scale wind projects in UK waters, following Scottish Power’s decision last year to axe its planned 1.8GW Argyll Array, and RWE deciding not to go ahead with the £3billion Atlantic Array project in the Bristol Channel.
Scottish energy giant SSE admitted earlier this year it was also reviewing its offshore wind energy portfolio as investment in the UK was ‘not encouraging’.
The Department for Energy and Climate Change insisted some “rationalisation“ of the offshore industry’s expansion plans was to be expected.
An official said: “There are some projects which are potentially reducing size at the moment. The most important thing to say is that’s a very natural thing to happen within the sector, it reflects the fact that the industry is maturing and focusing on the most practical projects.
“It reflects the fact that sites are often reduced or not developed given the particular circumstances of those sites, whether they are a very long way in the future in terms of the pipeline, whether they face particular geological or other issues.
“And it reflects the fact that some sites have particular environmental impacts which need to be managed very carefully, for example in the case of the London Array.”
The announcement came as the UK Government’s Department for Energy and Climate Change spelled out plans to remain a world leader in offshore wind.
DECC is looking to have up to 15GW of offshore wind projects up and running by 2020, reaching 41GW a decade later.
Despite the blow of the London Array scaleback, Energy Minister Michael Fallon insisted the UK remained a pioneer in the industry.
“The UK is the world leader in offshore wind – with more deployed than any other country, and a framework in place to retain our global lead,” he said.
“The benefits that offshore wind can bring are clear: as costs fall it can enhance our long-term energy security, reduce our dependence on imports and help reduce our carbon emissions.
“And, crucially, offshore wind can play a vital role in driving growth – adding billions of pounds of value to the UK economy and supporting thousands of jobs.”
Renewable UK’s Nick Medic said: “The overall project pipeline for UK offshore wind is still healthy, although obviously it’s disappointing when projects don’t go ahead or are scaled back. We’re maintaining our global lead, with more capacity installed in UK waters than the rest of the world put together.
“We have 22 offshore wind farms up and running, five under construction, seven with planning consent and 11 awaiting approval. We’ve already installed 3,653 MW of capacity – enough to power more than two and a half million homes. We have a further 16,500MW in the pipeline – that’s four and a half times as much capacity as we have now.”
Recommended for you
