APPLICATION FOR A DEVELOPMENT CONSENT ORDER,
THE PROPOSED HORNSEA PROJECT THREE OFFSHORE WIND FARM ORDER
(APPLICATION REFERENCE EN010080)
NOTICE UNDER ARTICLE 17 OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING (ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT) REGULATIONS 2009
Notice is hereby given that further information has been published in relation to the application made by Orsted Hornsea Project Three (UK) Ltd of 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG (“the Applicant”) for a Development Consent Order (“DCO”) under the Planning Act 2008 (“the Application”) for the Hornsea Project Three Offshore Wind Farm (accepted for examination under application reference EN1010080).
The Secretary of State considers information provided by the Applicant to their consultation letters dated 27 September 2019 and 31 October 2019 (“Further Information”) to contain further environmental information and therefore invites comments from interested parties on the Further Information no later than 16 April 2020.
The Further Information extends to:-
- North Norfolk Sandbanks and Saturn Reef Special Area of Conservation (“SAC”);
- The Wash and North Norfolk Coast SAC;
- The Flamborough and Filey Coast Special Protection Area (“SPA”);
- Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds Marine Conservation Zone (“MCZ”); and
- Markham’s Triangle MCZ.
The Further Information is set out in the following documents:-
- Applicant’s Summary Overview
- Appendix 1: Shadow Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) Derogation Case and supporting Annexes:
- Annex A: Case Law, Guidance & Previous Decisions on Alternative Solutions;
- Annex B: Imperative Reasons of Overriding Public Interest (IROPI) Law and Policy Update;
- Annex C: Statement of Need – Planning Act 2008; and
- Annex D: IROPI Case Studies.
- Appendix 2: Compensatory Measures:
- Annex A: Supplementary advice on the Conservation Objectives for kittiwake;
- Annex B: Subtidal Sandbanks Compensation Measures Options Screening;
- Annex C: Flamborough & Filey Coast Special Protection Area (SPA) Compensatory Measures Options Screening;
- Appendix 2A: Sandbanks Compensation Strategy
- Appendix 2B: Kittiwake Compensation Strategy
- Appendix 3: Marine Conservation Zones: Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) Derogation Case
- Appendix 3A: Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds MCZ In Principle Measures of Equivalent Environmental Benefit (MEEB) Plan
- Appendix 4: Post Examination Mitigation and Project Envelope Modifications:
- Annex A: Consequence of Change
- Annex B: Revised Ornithological Mitigation Scenario
- Annex C: Cable Protection Assessment for Marine Protected Areas
- Annex D: 2018/2019 Cable Engineering Site Specific Survey – Data Overview
- Appendix 5: Updated MCZ Assessment
- Appendix 6: (Updated) Outline Cable Specification and Installation Plan
- Appendix 7: (Updated) In–principle Hornsea Three Southern North Sea Special Area of Conservation Site Integrity Plan
- Appendix 8: Record of Consultation
- Appendix 9: Draft Development Consent Order (DCO) (Track changed)
- Appendix 10: Draft DCO Clean
- Appendix 11: Draft DCO Schedule of Changes
- Appendix 12: Draft DCO Standard Instrument Template
- Appendix 13: Markham’s Triangle Exclusion Zone Plan
- Appendix 14: Supporting Reference Material to Appendix 1, Annex C: Statement of Need
The Further Information also includes a number of consent envelope modifications. These include (but are not limited to):
- Decrease in maximum number of turbines from 300 to 231.
- Increase in minimum rotor tip height of turbines from 34.97m above lowest astronomical tide (LAT) /33.17 above mean sea level (MSL) to 41.8m above LAT/40m above MSL.
- Decrease in total rotor swept area from 9km² to 8.8km².
- Removal of all infrastructure from Markham’s Triangle MCZ.
- Reduction in cable rock protection within European designated sites.
Summary of the Project
The Application is for development consent to construct, operate and maintain Hornsea Project Three offshore wind farm (“Hornsea Three”). Hornsea Three will comprise up to 231 (previously 300) offshore wind turbines together with associated offshore and onshore infrastructure and all associated development.
Hornsea Three will be located within the former Hornsea Zone, to the east of Hornsea Project One and Hornsea Project Two. It will be located 121 km off the Norfolk coast and 160 km off the Yorkshire coast, and will cover an area of approximately 696 square kilometres.
Development consent is required to the extent that development is or forms part of a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project pursuant to section 14(1)(a) and 15(3) of the Planning Act 2008. As Hornsea Three will have a generating capacity of greater than 100MW it is a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project for the purposes of the Planning Act 2008. The Application was made on 14 May 2018 and accepted for examination on 8 June 2018 (under reference EN1010080). The examination closed on 2 April 2019. The Secretary of State has suspended consideration of the Application whilst awaiting the provision and publication of further information, with his decision expected on 1 June 2020.
The electricity generated from Hornsea Three will be transmitted via subsea electricity cables. The Hornsea Three cable corridor extends from the Norfolk coast, offshore in a north-easterly direction to the western and southern boundary of the array area. From the landfall west of Weybourne on the Norfolk coast, underground onshore cables will connect the offshore wind farm to an onshore high voltage direct current (HVDC) converter station or a high voltage alternating current (HVAC) substation, which in turn, will connect to the existing Norwich Main National Grid substation, located to the south of Norwich.
The mode of transmission will be either HVDC, HVAC or a combination of the two. Depending on the mode of transmission, a HVAC booster station may be required (onshore and/or offshore). Should an onshore HVAC booster station be required, this will be in the vicinity of Little Barningham.
The Application includes the option to construct Hornsea Three in one or two phases. The draft DCO (as of the end of the examination) provides for flexibility in relation to the design of the generating stations and their associated development.
The DCO would authorise the compulsory acquisition of land, interests in land and rights over land, and the powers to use land permanently and temporarily. The DCO would also authorise alterations to the public highway network, the construction of temporary and permanent accesses, the temporary stopping up or management of the public highway, public rights of way and street works and the application and/or disapplication of legislation.
Environmental Impact Assessment Development
The proposed works are environmental impact assessment development for the purpose of the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2009 and accordingly an environmental statement accompanies the Application.
Further Information
The Further Information can be viewed on the Hornsea Project Three Offshore Wind Farm project page of the National Infrastructure Planning website:-
Electronic copies of the Further Information and the environmental statement for reference can be provided on request by emailing: HornseaProjectThree@orsted.co.uk, by writing to Hornsea Project Three Offshore Wind Farm, c/o Emily Woolfenden Ørsted 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG or by telephone 07881943166. The Further Information and the environmental statement for reference will be available for inspection free of charge at Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library, The Forum, Millennium Plain, Norwich NR2 1AW between 11 March and 16 April 2020 and copies of the Further Information can be made available in hard copy format on request at a cost of £100.
Deadline for Response
Comments from interested parties on the Further Information must be received no later than 23:59 on 16 April 2020. How to Respond Consultation responses on the Further Information should be submitted by email to: HornseaProjectThree@planninginspectorate.gov.uk
Please also send any hard copy response to the Hornsea Project Three Offshore Wind Farm Team, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, c/o the Planning Inspectorate, 3D Eagle Wing, Temple Quay House, Temple Quay, Bristol, BS1 6PN.
If you will have difficulty in submitting a response by the consultation deadline, please inform the Planning Inspectorate Project Team as soon as possible. An explanation of the reasons for this should also be provided.
Responses will be published on the Hornsea Project Three Offshore Wind Farm project page of the National Infrastructure Planning website: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/eastern/hornsea-project-three-offshorewind-farm/ as soon as possible after 16 April 2020.
