Opponents of plans to dig a 60km trench through the Norfolk countryside and a new substation “the size of Wembley stadium” for an offshore wind farm have slammed the decision to approve it.
Ray Pearce, who lives near Reepham, has vowed to ask for a judicial review into the energy secretary of state Kwasi Kwarteng’s decision to approve the wind farm – Vattenfall’s Boreas – if the ruling was found to be unlawful.
The project has been hailed as an economic boost for Norfolk, creating jobs, boosting businesses and placing the region at the forefront of the burgeoning renewable energy sector.
Mr Pearce has already successfully challenged another wind farm called Vanguard planned by the Swedish state-owned firm in the High Court.
He said of the new decision: “It’s absolutely shocking. I’ll now take the time to read [the ruling] and have a legal overview, and if it is unlawful we would go to judicial review.
“The laws of this country are there to protect the majority of us and not to be handed over to developers so they can make profits hand over fist.”
The government’s published ruling states that the ‘examining authority’ recommended against the secretary of state granting permission for Boreas.
Mr Pearce said: “What we have got here is a foreign power exploiting UK permissive legislation for profit.”
r Pearce and others had wanted Vattenfall and other energy firms to share infrastructure so multiple trenches would not have to be dug across the countryside by connecting wind farms at an offshore transmission network, or ‘ring main’.
One of the most affected villages is likely to be Necton, near Dereham, where a substation – which Mid Norfolk MP George Freeman described as “the size of Wembley Stadium” – would be built to connect the Vattenfall wind farms to the National Grid.
Jenny Smedley, leader of the Necton Substations Action Group, said the Boreas ruling was “dispiriting”
She said: “Basically, the whole process has been a waste of time. It seems like they’re rushing it through because they’re in a panic.”
Mrs Smedley said an offshore transmission network was already being investigated by the National Grid and the government itself – and it would be further developed – so it would be a shame if Vattenfall missed out in linking into this.
But energy companies including Vattenfall have said the technology and regulation needed for a more integrated offshore grid are still years away and would not be ready in time for the current generation of wind farms. https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/boreas-wind-farm-ruling-could-be-challenged-8556234
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