The government has announced that it is “minded to approve” planning permission for a huge industrial base for the offshore wind sector on the east coast of England. The trade association RenewableUK has welcomed the announcement as a significant step forward which could lead to the creation of thousands of jobs and is a positive step for the £450 million project.
Able Marine Energy Park will cover nearly 800 acres of the south bank of the Humber and is expected to create up to 4,000 high quality jobs supplying components for offshore wind turbines as well as providing an assembly and installation base for North Sea projects.
RenewableUK says it is now looking forward to examination of two specific issues contained in the announcement so that a final decision can be reached, given that there has already been a significant delay.
The two issues awaiting further clarification concern measures to alleviate the “substantial risk” identified by Natural England that ecological compensation measures will not work and reassurance that the operations conducted at the new base will not interfere with the running of the nearby Killingholme Branch Railway. In respect of the first of these, the government has asked the applicant for confirmation that reasonable additional measures to guard against the risk identified by Natural England can be implemented or that developments since the panel examination have increased Natural England’s confidence in the effectiveness of the compensation proposals to an extent where they no longer consider the risk to be ‘substantial’.
“Today’s announcement marks an important step forward in the development of the UK’s offshore wind manufacturing sector” said RenewableUK Deputy Chief Executive Maf Smith. “This project demonstrates the massive scale of the opportunity we have to revitalise coastal areas around the country, creating tens of thousands of green-collar jobs by focussing specifically on marine renewables. Development of sites like this will be important in building a national and regional cluster of supply chain companies.. We know that the Government wants to take more time to look at certain aspects of the decision, and we look forward to their swift examination of these details so that we can get a green light once and for all and the project can start providing the economic boost for the area that we know it can.”
News of the announcement came on the same day that the UK was once again confirmed as the number one country in the world for offshore wind investment. The confirmation was provided by the August 2013 edition of the Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI) published by professional services company Ernst and Young.
The Able Marine Energy Park (AMEP) will offer 1,389 metres of new heavy duty deep water quays and 366.7 hectacres (906 acres) of developable land. It has been designed specifically for the marine renewables sector and will provide a multi-user facility for the manufacture, storage, assembly and deployment of next generation offshore wind turbines and their associated supply chains. The quays have been designed following extensive liaison with the industry, including offshore wind developers, manufacturers and installation vessel operators.
“This summer has proved to be a watershed season for the UK’s offshore wind industry” continued Maf Smith. “The Prime Minister David Cameron officially opened the world’s largest offshore wind farm, London Array, and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg opened the Lincs offshore wind farm. Looking ahead, Government has given planning consent to an even bigger project, Triton Knoll, to be built off the east coast of England. This means that the work is out there for ports to capitalise on.. We know that the UK is the top destination for offshore wind investment and this is the type of project we need to make sure British companies and workers feel the benefits of that investment.”
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