Dorset councillors oppose 970-MW offshore wind plan

Jun 4, 2014 - Dorset County Council’s planning committee has turned down the 970-MW Navitus Bay offshore wind proposal near the Isle of Wight in southern England, the Dorset Echo said Tuesday.

The proposal was rejected due to the project's onshore impact and the effect of cables on highways, said the vice-chairman of the committee Peter Hall, as quoted by the newspaper. Locals are also worried that the turbines will cause light pollution at night.

The decision of the planning committee is being presented to the authority's cabinet today. The cabinet will then make a final decision and submit it to the PIanning Inspectorate, which accepted the project application for examination in May.

The 970-MW offshore wind farm will consist of 194 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 5 MW, and is expected to produce enough power to meet the annual needs of about 700,000 households. The development company is a 50/50 joint venture between Dutch energy group Eneco Holding NV and French utility EDF's (EPA:EDF) renewable energy arm. Navitus Bay was previously planned to have a capacity of 1.1 GW but was downsized after public consultations earlier in February.

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