Consultation starts on latest proposals for North Falls Offshore Wind Farm

North Essex communities are being asked for their feedback on the proposed southern North Sea offshore wind farm, North Falls, which launched its second consultation phase today.

North Falls, a joint venture between SSE Renewables (50%) and RWE Renewables (50%), is a proposed extension to the existing 504-megawatt Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm, comprising an offshore array area of 150km² off the East Anglia coast and an onshore grid connection in Tendring, Essex.

Following an initial introductory consultation held in October 2021, this current consultation will present updated proposals on the project, particularly around its onshore infrastructure, and will give local people a number of opportunities to feed in their views. There will be an online consultation portal and two webinars plus the chance to meet the team at five local events in early November being held in Frinton-on-Sea, Tendring, Great Bromley, Thorpe Le Soken and Ardleigh.

North Falls senior consents manager, Daniel Harper said that the consultation will give communities the opportunity to share their opinions and local knowledge, which will inform the next phase of development, which is the preparation of the key application document, North Falls Preliminary Environmental Impact Report,

“As well as generating green energy, contributing to the UK’s net zero ambitions and providing energy security, North Falls will bring numerous local benefits such as jobs and supply chain opportunities to boost the economy,” he said. “However, it is key we have input on our plans to ensure the application we submit has taken into account a wide range of views.”

The consultation will run until Friday 9 December. All the details of the consultation including the location and times of the face-to-face events are now available on the project’s consultation portal: https://non-stat.northfallsoffshore.com/.

North Falls Offshore Wind Farm is being developed by a 50/50 joint venture company owned equally by SSE Renewables and RWE.