Isra-Mart srl:Developer unveils plan for Isle of Wight offshore wind farm

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Isra-Mart srl news:

The UK's flagship project to develop up to 32GW of offshore wind energy capacity by 2020 took a major leap forward today after one of the developers involved in the so-called Round 3 projects confirmed the location of its proposed Isle of Wight wind farm.

Eneco today confirmed it will build a wind farm with a capacity of up to 1,200MW, covering 76 square miles of the 279 square mile south coast zone that it secured the right to develop under the Crown Estate's Round 3 programme last year.

"Following survey work, Eneco identified that the area it chose for the location of the wind park could provide up to 1,200MW of capacity. Previously Eneco stated that the proposed development would provide at least 900MW of capacity," an Eneco spokeman told BusinessGreen.

The Dutch Utility will now undertake a formal consultation process as required by the 2009 Planning Act with the aim of starting construction in 2016 and switching on the turbines in 2019.

Like other Round 3 developers Eneco had to conduct a Zone Appraisal and Planning (ZAP) process to choose the exact location of the project.

Project director Chris Sherrington said he believed the ZAP process allowed the company to select the best location in terms of potential energy yields and environmental protection. "This is an important milestone in the lifetime of the development of this project and enables us to look to the future and consider wider impacts such as the positive economic benefits our project could bring to the area," he added.

Earlier this week, the Crown Estate, which owns and manages the UK seabed, announced that it has seen a huge demand from businesses wanting to get involved in Round 3 projects, with nearly 2,000 UK firms having attended its four recent offshore wind industry supply chain events.

Business Minister Mark Prisk attended the latest event in Twickenham this week and reiterated the government's commitment to creating up to 70,000 new jobs by 2020 through offshore wind sector.

"We want to be a genuine partner for the UK offshore wind industry and we want to hear from industry if there is anything else we can do to nurture the supply chain and help this vital sector to grow," he said.