The hearing of the UK Planning Inspectorate dealing with air navigation and shipping concerns regarding the proposed extension to the Walney Offshore Wind Farm was held on Tuesday the 18th March 2014.
Potential Impact on Air Navigation
The morning session of hearing, held in the Villa Marina in Douglas was dedicated to discuss the impact on air navigation in relation to the Isle of Man.
The proposed agenda for the session has been uploaded on National Infrastructure Planning. The hearing was attended by bodies including representatives of the Isle of Man Government, applicant DONG Energy, Isle of Man Airport.
Part of the concerns related to the impact of the proposed extension on radar. According to the Agreement Statement, numerous mitigation options have been discussed between DONG, the Ministry of Defence and BAE Systems, “with a Transponder Mandatory Zone (TMZ) in the area above the Proposal considered the most feasible.” An infill radar solution is being investigated as a back up.
Shipping Concerns
Concerns regarding sea navigation and safety, along with other potential implications for the Isle of man, were discussed in the afternoon. (More on the shipping concerns can be read in the article published on The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company website).
About Walney Wind Farm and Extension
The existing Walney Offshore Wind Farm comprises of a total of 102 turbines, split into Walney 1 and Walney 2. The project is located in the Irish sea, North West of Blackpool. The extension to the scheme should cover 145km2 and add a potential installed capacity of 750MW to the exisiting total capacity of 367.2MW.
About Pager Power
We have been providing planning solutions for wind farm radar, aviation and communication interference issues for over a decade. We have worked with developers of offshore and onshore wind schemes. If you have a project that you would like to discuss with us, all you need to do is get in touch with us, either via email: info@pagerpower.com or Call: +44 (0) 1787 319001. You can see about How We Work here.
