Seagreen has submitted an addendum to it’s applications for consent to build and operate two 525 Megawatt (MW) offshore wind farms in Phase 1 of the Firth of Forth Offshore Wind Zone.
The addendum was formally submitted to Marine Scotland, the Scottish Government directorate responsible for marine licensing and planning. Marine Scotland has confirmed acceptance of the addendum and the documents will be available for viewing during the formal public consultation period which runs from the 18th October to the 29th November 2013.
The Phase 1 proposals are for two separate offshore wind farms, Project Alpha and Project Bravo, located 27km and 38km respectively at their closest points from the Angus coastline. Consent applications for the wind farms were originally submitted to Marine Scotland in October 2012. The wind farms would each have a maximum capacity of 525 MW and accommodate up to 75 wind turbines and supporting infrastructure including subsea cables, offshore substation platforms and meteorological masts.
Seagreen submitted further information in the form of an addendum including the Seagreen Phase 1 Offshore Project – Habitats Regulations Appraisal (HRA) – Information to Inform Appropriate Assessment, as well as an erratum to the Seagreen Phase 1 Offshore Project Environmental Statement. An HRA is required under the European Habitats Directive and is used to protect habitats and species of European nature conservation importance.
Seagreen is developing the Firth of Forth Offshore Wind Zone in three phases. The total target zone capacity is 3.5 Gigawatts (GW) making it Scotland’s largest renewable energy project.
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Press release, October 23, 2013; Image: seagreenwindenergy