The Southern North Sea offshore wind farm, North Falls, has launched the statutory consultation on its proposals on May 16, 2023. North Falls is a proposed extension to the existing 504MW Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm, and comprises an offshore array area totalling 150km2 sited around 20 kilometres off the East Anglia coast and an onshore grid connection location in Tendring, Essex, UK. Underground cables would carry power from landfall near Frinton-on-Sea around 24 kilometres to a new onshore substation.
In this third round of consultation, the project team seeks comments from communities and the wider public on its project proposals, and specifically on its preliminary environmental information report (PEIR).
This report sets out the initial findings from the environmental impact assessment carried out by the project over the past three years. This work included onshore and offshore surveys, desk-based research and stakeholder consultation to identify potential environmental and community impacts from the project, and how those impacts could be dealt with.
This current consultation presents updated project proposals, particularly around its three options for transmission infrastructure, and offers a number of ways for people to feed in their views. There will be an online consultation portal and two webinars plus the chance to meet the team at five Essex events in early June being held in Great Bromley, Tendring, Frinton-on-Sea, Thorpe-le-Soken and Ardleigh.
For those in coastal regions potentially impacted by views of the wind farm, North Falls has also created a 3D interactive computer model with views from 17 different coastal locations for people to be able to see how it could look. (https://www.3dwtech.co.uk/dashboard/rwe/north-falls/portal-en/)
The consultation will run until Friday 14 July 2023. North Falls Offshore Wind Farm is being developed by a 50/50 joint venture company owned equally by SSE Renewables and RWE.
