The UK Government has given the go ahead for a planned 900 MW offshore wind farm set to be located off the coast of Lincolnshire, in the east of England.
The Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm is set to be developed by RWE Innogy, and has this week been given development consent by the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy. In line with recent moves to include local communities voice in the decision-making of wind developments, the surrounding community was given six months to participate in the examination conducted by the Planning Inspectorate.
“A major priority for us over the course of the examination was to ensure that communities who might be affected by this proposal had the opportunity to put forward their views,” said Sarah Richards, Chief Executive of The Planning Inspectorate. “As always, the Examining Authority gave careful consideration to these before reaching a conclusion.”
Not much information is available regarding Triton Knoll at this point. RWE Innogy has said that “It is too early to say how many wind turbines will be installed if the wind farm is given planning consent,” but that depending on the size of the turbines there will be a maximum of 288 turbines in total. The developer was awarded the rights to develop the site up to a total capacity of 1,200 MW, however, it revised this down to 900 MW.
In the end, RWE Innogy is hoping that annual electricity generated will be enough to supply the needs of a maximum of up to 800,000 average UK households.
Additionally, the development for the Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm could create as many as 1,900 UK jobs during construction, and up to 325 during operation. Commenting on the number of jobs this project will provide, RenewableUK’s Deputy Chief Executive, Maf Smith, said: “The developers of this major infrastructure project are working hard to ensure that British supply chain companies will reap the economic benefits on offer from Triton Knoll. There’s massive potential for job creation for innovative companies in Lincolnshire, the Humber region and throughout the UK.”
