Public Notice (Yorkshire): Proposed application to construct, operate, maintain and decommission the Hornsea Project Four Offshore Wind Farm

SECTION 48, PLANNING ACT 2008

REGULATION 4, THE INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING (APPLICATIONS: PRESCRIBED FORMS AND PROCEDURE) REGULATIONS 2009

NOTICE PUBLICISING A PROPOSED APPLICATION FOR A DEVELOPMENT CONSENT ORDER (DCO) TO CONSTRUCT, OPERATE, MAINTAIN AND DECOMMISSION AN OFFSHORE WIND FARM KNOWN AS THE HORNSEA PROJECT FOUR OFFSHORE WIND FARM

1. Notice is hereby given that Orsted Hornsea Project Four Limited, of 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG (hereafter referred to as ‘the Applicant’) intends to apply to the Secretary of State for a DCO under Section 37 of the Planning Act 2008 for the construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of an offshore wind farm generating station, and to connect the wind farm to the national grid (‘Hornsea Four’).
2. The proposed generating capacity of the offshore wind farm will exceed 100 MW and therefore it will be a nationally significant infrastructure project and will be authorised by a DCO.
3. The proposed application for development consent for Hornsea Four is being compiled by and consulted upon by the Applicant.
4. Hornsea Four is “EIA development” for the purposes of The Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017. This means that the proposed works involved constitute development for which an Environmental Impact Assessment is required and the proposed application for a DCO will therefore be accompanied by an Environmental Statement (ES).
5. The offshore wind turbines will be located in the western portion of the former Hornsea Round 3 Zone (referred to as the “array area”), which has a total area of 600 km2 and is located approximately 65 km (at its closest point) off Flamborough Head on the Yorkshire coast.
6. The proposed DCO will, among other things, license and authorise:

Offshore:

the construction and operation of up to 180 offshore wind turbines, with a maximum blade tip height of 370 metres (above lowest astronomical tide) and their foundations;

6.2          the construction of up to 10 offshore platforms within the array area, accommodating either (depending on final design);

6.2.1      high voltage alternating current (HVAC) consisting of up to 6 transformer substations and up to 1    accommodation platform, or

6.2.2      high voltage direct current (HVDC) consisting of up to 6 transformer substations, up to 3 offshore HDVC converter platforms, and up to 1 accommodation platforms.

6.3          offshore HVAC booster substations may be included at locations within the offshore cable route (at the surface);

6.4          the construction of a network of subsea array and interconnector cables connecting the wind turbines, offshore booster substations, offshore converter stations and offshore accommodation platform;

6.5          the construction of a subsea electrical connection to the shore, the mode of transmission of which may be HVAC or HVDC, running in a westerly direction from the boundary of the array area to the proposed landfall at Fraisthorpe, including cable and pipeline crossing works, consisting of up to 6 subsea export cables which may connect with the offshore HVAC booster stations (if required);

6.6          associated and/or ancillary works including: scour protection around the foundations of the offshore structures; cable protection measures such as rock placement and/or placement of concrete / frond mattresses; disposal of seabed sediment dredged during the installation of cables and the foundations of the offshore structures;

Onshore in East Riding of Yorkshire:

6.7          the construction of a foreshore connection consisting of an extension of the underground export cables comprising the subsea electrical connection to the shore, crossing underneath the beach and terminating at the onshore electrical cable transition joint bays;

6.8          the construction of jointing pits (including link boxes) along the underground export cables connecting the underground electrical cable transition joint bays to the electrical transmission Substation;

6.9          the construction of up to 6 underground electrical cable transition joint bays, housing the connections between the offshore subsea export cables and the onshore underground export cables;

6.10        the construction of underground export cables buried in up to 6 trenches, running in a south / south-westerly direction for approximately 40 km.  The export cables connect to Creyke Beck  National Grid substation, located between Cottingham and Beverley in East Riding of Yorkshire;

6.11        the construction of an HVDC converter/HVAC substation, connected with export cables to and from the onshore export cables running from landfall at Fraisthorpe or with export cables to and from HVAC booster station, and with export cables to the Creyke Beck National Grid substation;

6.12        in relation to the HVAC booster station, HVDC converter/HVAC substation and connection works within the Creyke Beck National Grid substation, the construction of auxiliary equipment, support buildings, private roads and hardstanding;

6.13        the construction of temporary haul roads and temporary access tracks, both alongside and separate from the export cable route used for the purpose of constructing the underground export cables connecting the underground electrical cable transition pits to the Creyke Beck National Grid substation;

6.14        associated and/or ancillary works including: archaeological and ground investigations, drainage works; improvements to the verges, highways and private access roads; works to alter the position of apparatus, including mains, sewers, drains and cables; works affecting non-navigable rivers, streams or watercourses; landscaping and other works to mitigate any adverse effects of the construction, operation, maintenance or decommissioning of the authorised project, including but not limited to ecological monitoring and mitigation works;

6.15        such other works and apparatus, plant and machinery as may be necessary or expedient for the purposes of or in connection with the construction of the authorised project;

6.16        if required, the temporary stopping up, alteration or diversion of any street;

6.17        if required, the permanent and/or temporary compulsory acquisition of land and/or rights for Hornsea Four; and

6.18        as required, the application and/or disapplication of legislation relevant to Hornsea Four.

7              Documents showing the nature and location of Hornsea Four including a non-technical summary of the preliminary environmental information report for Hornsea Four, can be accessed free of charge during Formal Consultation from 13 August 2019 until 23 September 2019 at the places and times set out below:

*Printed copy of the Preliminary Environmental Information Report available at this location.

The aforementioned documents will also be available at public exhibitions to be held as follows:

9              Where a copy of the documents is requested from the Applicant, this can be provided free of charge on a USB card.  The documents can be made available in hard copy format on request at a cost of:

• Non-Technical Summary of Preliminary Environmental Information – free on request;
• Preliminary Environmental Information Report Volumes 1-3 – £200;
• Preliminary Environmental Information Report Annexes – £600;
• Other documents including Draft Report to Inform Appropriate Assessment and supporting Annexes – £350; and
• Total cost for all documents – £1,160.

Further details in relation to Hornsea Four and the aforementioned documents can be found on the Hornsea Four website https://hornseaprojects.co.uk/en/Hornsea-Project-Four/ or requested from the email or postal addresses below.

10           Any responses to, or other representations in respect of, Hornsea Four should be sent to the Applicant, care of Orsted, by email to hornseaprojectfour@orsted.co.uk or by post to Humphrey Laidlaw, Hornsea Project Four offshore wind farm, Orsted, 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.

11           Any response or representation in respect of the proposed DCO must (i) be received by the Applicant no later than 23 September 2019, (ii) be made in writing (email or letter format), (iii) state the grounds of the response or representation, (iv) indicate who is making the response or representation, and (v) give an address to which correspondence relating to the response or representation may be sent.

12           Responses and other representations may be made public.