100 MW White Cross Floating Wind Farm Granted Full Consent

The 100 MW White Cross floating offshore wind farm, developed by Flotation Energy and Cobra, has been granted full onshore and offshore planning approval.

The project submitted an application to the North Devon Council and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) in 2023 to construct and operate a floating wind farm and for works to connect White Cross to the grid.

The applications were the subject of three rounds of public consultation.

Following the approval from the North Devon Council’s Planning Committee on 7 May, the council has now granted consent for the onshore elements of the project. Meanwhile, MMO has issued a marine licence under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 to enable the offshore elements of the project in accordance with the South West Marine Plan.

“We are grateful to the North Devon Council and the Marine Management Organisation, and to everyone who has engaged with the project. In response to feedback, we have adapted our plans to minimise environmental and social impacts,” said Sam Park, Senior Project Manager for the White Cross project.

The floating wind farm’s offshore export cable(s) will make landfall at Saunton Sands beach before connecting to the onshore export cable(s). Those will be completely buried underground for their entire length and will travel approximately eight kilometres to a new White Cross onshore substation, which will accommodate the connection to the existing East Yelland substation.

The cable(s) will pass beneath Braunton Burrows and the Taw Estuary via trenchless technology, designed to avoid any surface disruption within the Braunton Burrows Special Area of Conservation (SAC) dune system and the Taw-Torridge Estuary SSSI.

“This decision gives us a valuable opportunity to harness this pioneering technology to help deliver the energy transition in the south west of England. By doing so, we will seek to spark the development of a specialised local supply chain, creating jobs whilst providing 135,000 homes with renewable energy,” said Park.

The White Cross floating wind farm will be located 52 kilometres off the Devon coast in the Celtic Sea. The 100 MW project will consist of six to eight floating turbines that are expected to generate enough renewable energy to power around 135,000 households.

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