Business group gives backing to Rampion wind farm plans
‘We need to embrace green technologies’, says partnership
A business group has announced its support of plans to extend the Rampion offshore wind farm off the West Sussex coast.
The Coastal West Sussex Partnership has backed the Rampion 2 project being proposed by RWE.
Henry Powell, chairman of the Coastal West Sussex Partnership, said: “The Rampion 2 development will make a significant contribution to producing clean, green energy and must be allowed to be delivered.
“Just because people don’t like to see the turbines on the horizon should not be a reason to prevent the wind farm expansion. We need to embrace clean and green technologies as a matter of urgency to help mitigate the climate changes the world is currently experiencing.”
A consultation on the proposals – which have attractedwidespreadcomment in recent weeks – closed on September 16.
Director of Coastal West Sussex Partnership Caroline Wood said: “The government recently declared a climate emergency and has committed to the UK becoming ‘net zero’ by 2050.
“It has also set a target to deliver over a third of the UK’s electricity from offshore wind by 2030 and the Rampion 2 wind farm will make a significant contribution towards this goal.
“We appreciate that the scale of this project has raised concerns, however, looking beyond the aesthetics of the windfarm, the energy that this development will produce has the ability to produce 1,200MW of electricity; able to power one million homes and make a significant contribution in reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.”
A letter by the group outlined key areas for the developers and the economic benefit Rampion 2 could bring to local businesses. It also encouraged RWE explore how it could engage children, young people and schools to inspire the next generation particularly in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). The letter also urges a financial contribution due to the scale of Rampion 2.
For more information about Rampion 2, visit https:// rampion2.com