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.
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.
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
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.
Although there are several seabird species along the South Coast, an assessment of the potential impacts to birds by ornithological experts determined that the presence of the wind farm would not result in any significant impacts to birds in the area.
Prior to construction, surveys of birds, fish and shellfish, benthic and marine mammals were undertaken to identify the use of the area by marine life.
It was found that the Black Bream spawning at the Kingmere Reef Marine Conservation Zone were particularly sensitive to noise during foundation piling, and therefore the piling activities during the most sensitive breeding season (from April to July) were stopped.
Metadata Documents
Environmental Papers and Reports
- Decommissioning Programme for Rampion Offshore Wind Farm (Rampion Offshore Wind Limited 2018)
- Rampion Windfarm: Simultaneous piling assessment (HR Wallingford Ltd 2016)
- Rampion OWF - Geotechnical Survey, Revision 2 - Final Results Report (EGS Ltd. 2016)
- Rampion Offshore Wind Farm, UK: Metocean Study Stage Three – Metocean Assessment (DHI Water & Environment 2014)
- Rampion Offshore Wind Farm and connection works Examining Authority’s Report of Findings and Conclusions and Recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Walker et al. 2014)
- Rampion Offshore Wind: Environmental Statement (E.ON 2012)
- Rampion Offshore Wind: Non-Technical Summary (RSK Group 2012)
- Rampion OWF Round 3 Zone 6: Migratory Bird Report (Shreeve and Graeme 2012)
- Rampion Wind Farm: Coastal Processes Assessment (ABP Marine Environmental Research Ltd (ABPmer) 2011)
- Rampion Offshore Wind Farm - Scoping Report (RSK Group 2010)
Additional Rampion Offshore Wind data can be found on the Marine Data Exchange.
Environmental Monitoring: Rampion Offshore Wind
Phase | Stressor & Receptor | Design and Methods | Results | Publications | Data |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 |
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 | |
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 |
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 |
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 |