1. Rampion Offshore Wind Farm Environmental Statement Example
2. Rampion Offshore Wind Farm Environmental Statement Examples
3. Rampion Offshore Wind Farm Environmental Statement Report

The Rampion 2 team has launched a four-week informal consultation this week January 14, to raise awareness and seek feedback on their initial proposals to expand the Rampion Wind Farm off the Sussex coast. The project has been named the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm, following a competition held among local schools to choose a name for the wind farm. The area identified as the red line boundary for the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm is shown in Figure 1.1. The Rampion Offshore Wind Farm is a proposed wind farm in the English Channel. If the Rampion proposal is to be developed it would sit inside an area of approximately 167 square kilometres. Inside that expansive sea area there could be a maximum of 195 three MW turbines. These would be spread out throughout the proposed area.

Rampion Offshore Wind Farm Environmental Statement Example

Environmental Impact Assessment

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) looks at the impactof the proposed development on the environment. It will look at this throughout the life of the windfarm, during theconstruction, operation and decommissioning stages.

Large projects such as offshore windfarms are required underEuropean Legislation to carry out and EIA. The most recent EIA regulationsspecify that the assessment must consider impacts on human health, climatechange and biodiversity.

Consultation with statutory consultees, special interest groups and the local community is performed throughout the EIA process. This allows the consenting authority as well as other stakeholders and the public to voice their opinion and concerns.

To determine the effect of the development a range ofenvironmental surveys are conducted to understand the environment. After assessing the potential impact,mitigation measures are defined and applied in order to determine the effectsassociated with the development.

Part of the EIA is the Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA), where the development’s impacts combined with those impacts from other projects are assessed. The EIA is used to create the Environmental Statement (ES) (or EIA Report). This report is submitted to support a consent application.

A Habitat Regulations Appraisal (HRA) is performed as partof an EIA to ensure that a project conforms to The Conservation of Habitats andSpecies Regulations (2010). If the development is likely to affect a designatedEuropean site, developers are required to consider the potential effects onprotected habitats. A report is submitted with the consent application, withsufficient information for a decision to be made.

This assessment will cost about £8 million for a 1GW wind farm. The EIA process can take up to three years to complete. This is primarily due to the length of time it takes to complete the required environmental survey work.

To find out more about the Rampion Windfarm project, join one of the trips aboard Defiance.

Prior to submission of an application for consents, a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of all of the potential impacts that may arise during the construction, operation and decommissioning of the wind farm was undertaken.

Rampion Offshore Wind Farm Environmental Statement Examples

The assessment looked at the impacts to the physical, biological and human environment, both on and offshore. Where potential impacts were identified and considered any measures that could be put in place to mitigate or reduce these impacts.

Rampion Offshore Wind Farm Environmental Statement Report

To determine the impacts, a full suite of environmental surveys was undertaken, establishing the baseline for the assessment. These surveys included bird, fish and ecology surveys, navigational and socio-economic surveys, and traffic impacts assessments.