Plans to expand wind farm in West Sussex will begin today
Examination of the Rampion 2 development application will be considered
Plans to expand the Rampion Wind Farm off the coast of West Sussex will be considered today.
If Rampion 2 gets the go ahead we will see up to 90 wind turbines built connected via almost 40km of cable running from Climping beach to a new substation.
That will add to the already 116 existing wind turbines.
The company behind the plans say it could generate 3 quarters of the electricity demands in the whole of Sussex.
Objections about its potential visual impact and the rooting of cabling near wildlife have been lodged.
Critics are also concerned about the wind farm's impact on tourism.
But the aim is to have it up and running by 2030.
These latest hearings are part of the Planning Inspectorate's pre-examination phase for the project.
The hearings will take place at a Brighton hotel across four days, during which time members of the public can register as an interested party.
If consented and constructed, Rampion 2 would form part of the UK’s critical national infrastructure.
On their website, the company claim the wind farm could generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of over 1 million homes and reduce carbon emissions by around 1.8 million tonnes every year.
A final decision is expected in no less than a year.