Abstract
Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm Ltd (TKOWFL) is proposing to develop an offshore wind farm in the Greater Wash Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) region. The proposed project, known as Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm (OWF), would be located approximately 33 km off the Lincolnshire coast, 46 km off the North Norfolk coast and 48km off the nearest point on the East Riding of Yorkshire coastline. The project could comprise between 150 and 333 wind turbines and would have a total generating capacity of up to 1200 megawatts (MW).
The initial Triton Knoll project area was selected as a suitable development site due to a number of key attributes, including an excellent wind resource, and a reasonably flat seabed in relatively shallow waters. Following the initial award of the site by The Crown Estate, TKOWFL carried out a more detailed review of the constraints (biological, physical and human) acting on the site. Following this review TKOWFL identified that the original Triton Knoll site was likely to have potential significant impacts on commercial shipping routes, helicopter access buffers to oil and gas platforms to the north of the site and a helicopter main route which traverses north of the site.
Re-evaluation of the site using experiences from development of the Gwynt y Môr OWF, off the North Wales coast, concluded that the impacts of the constraints identified above could be addressed, and that the Triton Knoll site in an amended form did offer a substantial development opportunity. The boundaries of the Triton Knoll area, as now proposed, have been developed principally to mitigate the potential impacts of the site on shipping and navigation.
The purpose of this Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) scoping report is to build on consultation carried out to date on the Triton Knoll OWF project and to seek opinion from a wide range of statutory and non-statutory consultees and stakeholders on the scope of the EIA required for the Triton Knoll project. This report is an updated version of a previous scoping report issued in January 2009. Since this date, the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) has come into force and will be the body that assesses the eventual formal consent application by TKOWFL. In light of this change, the IPC advised TKOWFL that a new scoping report should be issued so they could provide their own formal scoping opinion, separate to that provided previously by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
The Triton Knoll OWF will have associated onshore and offshore electrical infrastructure to enable the electricity generated by the wind turbines to be transformed to a suitable voltage and connected to the national grid strategic electricity transmission system. National Grid has identified the East Lindsey District coast of Lincolnshire as the appropriate location for a new strategic electricity connection to serve Triton Knoll and future Round 3 connections, although a specific compound location and incoming routing has not yet been identified by them. This scoping report presents the current knowledge of this aspect of the project and best available information from third parties. The scoping report also presents details on the baseline environment around the Triton Knoll development area and identifies potential impacts that may arise as a result of this development.
Potential surveys/studies to inform the EIA process are listed, along with discussion about possible mitigation and monitoring measures that may be implemented to reduce the significance of any impacts.