29 October 2009 10:44
E.ON's Humber Gateway offshore wind farm moves one step closer
E.ON has taken the next step in developing its Humber Gateway offshore wind farm by submitting a planning application to build a new substation on industrial land near Salt End.
The substation would connect the proposed wind farm, located approximately 8km off the Holderness coast, to the national grid via 30km of underground cable.
The application for the onshore substation follows applications last year for the Humber Gateway offshore wind farm to the Department for Energy and Climate Change and the East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
Vaughan Weighill, Development Manager on the Humber Gateway proposal said: "This is the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle for this exciting project. We've carefully selected a brownfield industrial site, located as close as possible to the existing power network, to minimise any effect on local communities and residents in the area."
The plans also highlight the intention to use underground cables to connect to the grid, rather than any overhead lines, avoiding any potential visual impact along the 30km cable route from the coast.
Vaughan said: "This development could not only help the country meet the Government's tough renewable and carbon emission reduction targets, but also but also help to provide a clean, secure supply of energy for East Yorkshire."
Early estimations for the site have shown that the Humber Gateway wind farm could have the capacity to provide up to 195,000 homes[i] with clean, renewable energy from up to 83 turbines. This equates to more than one-and-a-half times the number of homes in Hull, with a total generating capacity of up to 300MW.
If built, the wind farm could also displace the emission of up to 395,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, the equivalent of taking 110,000 cars off Britain's roads[ii].
E.ON is holding an Information Day for interested members of the public to find out more about the substation plans, at Hedon Town Hall on Wednesday 11th November between 1pm and 8pm.
If granted planning consent, construction on site could begin as early as 2011.
Ends
- E.ON is one of the UK's leading power and gas companies - generating and distributing electricity, and retailing power and gas - and is part of the E.ON group, one of the world's largest investor-owned power and gas companies. We employ around 17,000 people in the UK and more than 92,000 worldwide.
- We're one of the leading renewable generators in the UK, with 20 wind farms located from Cornwall to Northern Ireland. We own and operate one of the UK's largest dedicated biomass power stations at Lockerbie. Combined, our renewable portfolio generates enough renewable energy to power the homes in a city the size of Manchester.
- Our renewable development portfolio could power over a million homes and displace the emission of almost two million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by building new onshore and offshore wind farms, biomass power stations, and tidal stream and wave power schemes.
- Our target is to cut the carbon released by each kW of electricity we generate by 10% between 2005-2012, having already reduced it by 20% since 1990;
- We have 1,500MW of renewable capacity under development;
- We are investing £50 million in new technologies and approaches over 10 years, through the Energy Technologies Institute;
- E.ON Group has announced it intends to reduced the carbon intensity of its generation by 50% by 2030 (on 1990 levels);
- E.ON Group aims to spend €8bn between 2007 and 2011 on renewable generation and climate protection activities.
For more information contact:
Scott Somerville on 02476 183 438
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[i] Based on an average annual domestic household consumption of 4,725 kWh (Source BERR)
[ii] Based on guidelines to DEFRA's greenhouse gas conversion factors for company reporting, 2008