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Partnering with WREN, questionnaires are sent to offshore wind energy developers around the world who are involved in environmental monitoring. This page provides contextual project information and highlights environmental monitoring, providing links to available data and reports. Content is updated annually.

Rampion Offshore Wind

Rampion Offshore Wind

Contents

Wind Project Site

Title: Rampion Offshore Wind
Status:
Operating
Project Manager:
Enbridge Rampion Uk Ltd, Equitix Limited, RWE Renewables (RWE)
Turbine Developer:
Vestas Wind Systems A/S
Construction Start:
Operation Start:
Info Last Updated:
Contact:
Rampion Wind Farm
(login for email address)
Website:
External Link

Details

Technology:
Fixed Offshore Wind
Project Scale:
Commercial Farm
Turbine Model:
V112-3.45
Hub Height:
80 m
Rotor Diameter:
112 m
Number of Turbines:
116
Capacity per Turbine:
3.45 MW
Installed Capacity:
400 MW
Support Structure:
Monopile, Jacket Foundation
Inter-Array Cables:
33 kV
Export Cables:
AC, Buried Seafloor Cables
Export Cable Voltage:
150 kV
Number of Export Cables:
2
Cable Landfall:
Horizontal Directional Drill
Physical Site:
Shallow Water (<60m), Marine, Hard-Bottom Habitat
Water Depth:
30 m
Distance from Shore:
13-25 km
Country:
United Kingdom

Description

Rampion Offshore Wind is comprised of 116 Vestas V112-3.45 turbines and has a capacity of 400 MW which can power approximately 350,000 UK homes and reduce approximately 600,000 tonnes of emissions. The wind farm occupies an area of approximately 72 square kilometres.

The lease with The Crown Estate extends to 50 years. When the turbines are reaching the end of their natural working life (20-25 years), a decision will be made to refurbish with the same turbines or re-power the site.

Rampion Offshore Wind Limited has three shareholders. RWE Renewables UK, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies, is the majority shareholder along with Enbridge, North America’s premier infrastructure company, and Equitix, investor, developer, and fund manager in infrastructure.

Location

Rampion Offshore Wind Farm is located in the English Channel between 13 and 25 km from the Sussex coast in the UK. It is situated off the coast of towns Worthing and Shoreham-by-Sea to the west.

The onshore cable for the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm, run 14 kilometres through the South Downs National Park to connect the wind farm with the new substation at Twineham.

The operation and maintenance of the wind farm is carried out from a purpose-built facility at Newhaven Port.

Project Timeline

  • November 2018: Fully Commissioned
  • May 29, 2018: Operations & Maintenance Base Officially Opened
  • November 26, 2017: First Power Generated and Delivered to the National Grid
  • September 2017: Installation of All 116 Wind Turbines Completed
  • April 2017: Offshore Substation Installed
  • March 2017: First Wind Turbine Installed
  • November 2016: Installation of All 166 Foundations Completed
  • February 2016: Offshore Construction Start
  • September 2015: Onshore Construction Start
  • May 2015: Final Investment Decision
  • 2014: Offtake Conditionally Secured
  • January 2010: Site Exclusivity Obtained

Licensing Information

  • July 2014: Development Consent Awarded
  • March 2013: Development Consent application submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for the examination phase

Additional licensing information can be found here.

Key Environmental Issues

Rampion has had ongoing engagement with commercial fisherman and charter boat owners since the early days of the project. Prior to construction, Rampion held an event for sea users to present information about the construction program and activity. An offshore fishing liaison officer was on board construction vessels throughout the works.

Working with ecology consultants for nearly four years, surveys of the natural habitats were carried out along the whole proposed onshore cable route and substation. By identifying the flora and fauna that could be affected by construction work, Rampion was able to put plans in place to protect it, as part of its Ecology and Landscape Management Plan. The surveys found areas of Biodiversity Action Plan priority habitat, including chalk grassland, so to minimize the impact of construction special construction methods in these places were used.

RWE has partnered with ARC marine to launch a joint pilot project, Reef Enhancement for Scour Protection (RESP), at the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm. Co-funded by Innovate UK, the project is delivering sustainable, nature-inclusive reef cubes as an alternative to traditional rock scour protection. The data and insights gathered from the RESP pilot will help to assess the potential benefits of using Nature Inclusive Design (NID) to increase biodiversity within future offshore developments while addressing a critical engineering issue.

Environmental Papers and Reports

Additional Rampion Offshore Wind data can be found on the Marine Data Exchange.

Environmental Monitoring: Rampion Offshore Wind

ID Phase Stressor & Receptor Design and Methods Results Publications Data
2079527 Baseline Birds Desk-Based Studies and Boat-Based and Aerial Bird Surveys
A desk study was undertaken to collate relevant information available on the ornithological interests in and around the project site.
Boat-based and aerial bird surveys were ongoing in the survey area since March 2010. 		Complete
Fulmar and Gannet were widely distributed across the survey area, though more abundant in the southern part in the deeper waters.
larval and Great Black-backed Gulls, Kittiwake, and Guillemot were also widespread across the survey area.
Common and Little Gull and Razorbill were strongly concentrated in the shallower waters. 		E.ON 2012

2010-2011, SeaRoc, Zone 6-Rampion, Bird and Marine Mammal Surveys

2010-2012, Natural Power Consultants Ltd., Zone 6-Rampion, Bird and Marine Mammal Surveys
2079525 Baseline Fish Desk-Based Studies and Field Surveys
Information on fish and shellfish in the study was collated form several sources. A scientific bean trawl survey was undertaken in July and Autumn 2011 as well as February 2012. A demersal otter trawl was undertaken in Autumn 2011 and February 2012. A commercial beam trawl was undertaken in April 2012. 		Complete
15 elasmobranch species have been included as “priority species” on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, of which several (spurdog, porbeagle shark, shortfin mako, basking shark, tope, blue shark, undulate ray) are likely to occur to some degree in the study area. Short-snouted seahorses have been recorded in the Shoreham and Brighton marina areas.
European eels are likely to occur in both intertidal and subtidal environments of the study area. 		E.ON 2012

2011-2012, Brown and May Marine Ltd., Zone 6-Rampion, Adult and Juvenile Fish and Epibenthic Characterization Survey
2079526 Baseline Marine Mammals Desk-Based Studies and Boat-based Surveys
Information on marine mammals in the study was collated form several sources. 30 boat-based surveys were carried out on at least a monthly basis between March 2010 and February 2012. 		Complete
Six species of marine mammals were identified positively during 113 encounters with approximately 212+ individuals during line transect surveys. These species were harhour porpoise, bottlenose dolphin, white-beaked dolphin, minke whalte, common seal, and grey seal. 		E.ON 2012

2010-2011, SeaRoc, Zone 6-Rampion, Bird and Marine Mammal Surveys

2010-2012, Natural Power Consultants Ltd., Zone 6-Rampion, Bird and Marine Mammal Surveys
2079524 Baseline Physical Environment Geophysical Surveys
Marine geophysical surveys (high resolution imaging) were conducted during 2010. During 2011, a further survey was undertaken in the northeast corner. A marine geotechnical survey was undertaken at the beginning of 2011. A 3-month Metocean survey and assessment was undertaken on 1 Sep 2010 and three buoys were deployed across the project. 		Complete
The project site had a gently folded and eroded bedrock profile comprising the London Clay Formation, overlying the Lambeth Group and the Cretaceous Upper Chalk Group. The bedrock profile is superimposed locally by Quaternary palaeochannels/palaevallys and a thin covering of more recent Holocene Sediments. 		E.ON 2012

2010-2011, Furgo EMU, Zone 6-Rampion, Metocean Survey and Assessment

2010-2011, Osiris Projects, Zone 6-Rampion, Geophysical Survey

2011, Furgo GeoConsulting Ltd., Zone 6-Rampion, Geotechnical Site Investigation

2011-2012, EMU and RSK, Zone 6-Rampion, Benthic Surveys

2011-2012, ABPmer, Zone 6 – Rampion, Coastal Processes Assessment
2079528 Baseline Physical Environment Geotechnical Survey
Two vessels were used to conduct the geotechnical survey of the project area from 8 January 2016 to 19 February 2016. The vessels operated out of Shoreham Port. The observed water depths were taken from the vessel’s single-beam echo sounder. 		Complete
Soil conditions for these tests varied greatly throughout the site and results were comprised of: sand, clay with rare gravel, and chalk. 		EGS Ltd. 2016

2016, EGS, Zone 6 Rampion, Geotechnical Survey