The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has today granted development consent to E.On Renewables for the Rampion offshore wind farm, a nationally significant infrastructure project.
The 700 megawatt wind farm will be based off the coast of Sussex, and will consist of up to 175 turbines generating enough energy to power 450,000 homes and will stretch to approximately 8 miles. The government has said that the £2bn project will create more than 750 jobs. Construction should begin in 2015 and E.On estimate that the wind farm will start generating power from 2018 or 2019.
Ed Davey, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, said the decision was "great news for Sussex," and would create, "green jobs as well as driving business opportunities right across the country".
Commenting on the approval, E.On Renewables Chief operating officer Michael Lewis said, "This is a key milestone for the project and we firmly believe Rampion will play an important role in helping to ensure future security of supply and make a significant contribution towards meeting the UK's renewable energy targets."
The UK Government is bound by the Renewable Energy Directive 2009 to achieve a target of 15% of the UK's energy to be produced from renewable sources by 2020.
Renewable energy is currently producing 4.2% of the UK's electricity but the government is confident of meeting its target by 2020. This will be aided by the £40m in funding that has been given to DECC to bolster green energy production. The government predicts that there will be 16GW of offshore wind power by the end of the decade. After 2020, there is currently no target as the government believes the carbon budgets will require a massive growth in low-carbon energy. This could come from nuclear power, carbon capture and storage, energy efficiency or an expansion of the use of gas.
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