Government consents Rampion 2 Offshore Wind Farm
The Rampion 2 Offshore Wind Farm off the Sussex coast has been consented, securing 1.2 GW of clean, secure, homegrown power for British families.
- Approval of Rampion 2 means that the government has consented enough clean energy to power the equivalent of almost 2 million homes, since July
- Jobs created as a result of approving major offshore wind and solar projects
- Delivers on government Plan for Change to make decisions on 150 Development Consent Order applications over this Parliament
A major offshore wind farm capable of producing enough clean electricity to power the equivalent of one million homes - has today (Friday 4 April) been approved by the Energy Secretary Ed Miliband as part of the government’s Plan for Change.
The Rampion 2 Offshore Wind Farm off the Sussex coast has been granted planning permission, securing 1.2 GW of clean, secure, homegrown power for British families and businesses.
Seizing on the economic opportunity of the 21st century, accelerating towards clean energy will create the jobs of the future across the UK. The Rampion 2 developer estimates that this project alone will create up to 4,000 direct and indirect jobs in the construction of up to 90 offshore turbines.
Approval moves the government a step closer to delivering clean power by 2030, putting the UK within 4 GW of consenting enough offshore wind to reach our ambition of 43-50 GW set out in the Clean Power Action Plan.
This step underlines the government’s commitment to unlocking vital infrastructure and backing growth and is the 15th Development Consent Order approved since July.
This decision follows measures in the new Planning and Infrastructure Bill which will see dozens of clean energy projects, including wind and solar power, jump to the front of the queue for grid connections.
The Bill will pave the way for windfarms and other low carbon infrastructure to be approved and built faster as part of the government’s mission to deliver homegrown, clean power that Britain controls and lower energy bills for good.
Energy Security Secretary Ed Miliband said:
The UK has a boundless supply of wind that cannot be turned on and off at the whims of dictators and petrostates.
It’s time to get off the fossil fuel rollercoaster, roll out clean power, protect our energy security and bring down bills for good.
This project puts us within reach of our clean power offshore wind target. Through our Plan for Change we’re getting on with delivering the clean energy and jobs Britain needs.
The government has already approved a number of major energy infrastructure projects since July, including:
- Cottam Solar Farm: 600 MW, enough to power the equivalent of 180,000 homes and the developer estimates could support up to 350 jobs during construction
- Heckington Fen Solar Farm: 500 MW, enough to power the equivalent of 150,000 homes and the developer estimates could support up to 400 jobs during construction
- Mallard Pass Solar Farm: 350 MW, enough to power the equivalent of 100,000 homes the developer estimates could up to 400 jobs during construction
- Sunnica Solar Farm: 500 MW, enough to power the equivalent of 150,000 homes and the developer estimates could support up 1,400 jobs during construction
- Gate Burton Solar Farm: 531 MW, enough to power the equivalent of 160,000 homes and the developer estimates could support up to 325 construction jobs
- West Burton Solar Farm: 480 MW, enough to power the equivalent of 140,000 homes and the developer estimates could support up to 300 direct construction jobs
In the last renewables auction round the government secured almost 5 GW of new offshore wind capacity, including the largest offshore windfarm project in Europe - the Hornsea 4 project off the Yorkshire coast.
Notes to editor
Consented projects
The Secretary of State has consented a combined offshore wind and solar capacity in the region of 4 GW since July.
The details of the Rampion 2 planning decision and the reasons for the decision are set out in the Secretary of State’s Decision Letter, which is published alongside the Report from the Examining Authority on the Planning Inspectorate website.
Job estimates
All job estimates presented above have been taken from developer estimates shared with the Planning Inspectorate through their Environmental Statements. Given differing methodologies and inclusion of different job types these numbers should not be summed. The relevant planning documents can be found here:
- Rampion 2 (PDF, 1.36 MB, 172 pages)
- Cottam Solar Farm (PDF, 1.52 MB, 149 pages)
- Heckington Fen Solar Farm (PDF, 1.53 MB, 69 pages)
- Mallard Pass Solar Farm (PDF, 787 KB, 49 pages)
- Sunnica Solar Farm (PDF, 1.01 MB, 74 pages)
- Gate Burton Solar Farm (PDF, 690 KB, 90 pages)
- West Burton Solar Farm (PDF, 1.66 MB, 166 pages)
Homes powered
The estimate of homes powered reflects the equivalent number of homes that could be powered from this capacity based on a combination of published load factors (solar PV - 2023 Electricity Generation Costs Report) and developer estimates (offshore wind - Rampion 2). Actual generation will vary somewhat based on site-specific factors.
The estimate also uses household consumption estimates sourced from the published Subnational Electricity and Gas Consumption Report.
It is not possible to continuously power a home through intermittent renewables – this capacity will work alongside the rest of the electricity system to power homes and businesses.