The inspectorate closed the examination period in August 2024, following public consultation and review of RWE’s application, and sent the recommendation report to the Secretary of State in early November 2024.
The Secretary of State was initially scheduled to decide on the project by early February, but the decision deadline was extended to 4 April .
Under the now-granted development consent order, the Rampion 2 offshore wind farm can have a maximum of 90 wind turbines with a rotor diameter of no more than 295 metres each.
The initial plan for Rampion 2 was that the project would have 116 wind turbines; however, following statutory consultation held in 2021 and 2022 and feedback on visual effects and shipping from key stakeholders, RWE reduced the size of the array site and the number of turbines to 90.
The offshore wind farm will be located adjacent to the south and west of the existing Rampion offshore wind farm, between 13 and 25 kilometres off the Sussex coast, and will connect to the national grid at the Bolney Substation in Mid Sussex, with the cable to come to shore under Climping Beach in West Sussex.
The DCO states that the 1.2 GW project “must commence no later than the expiration of seven years beginning with the date this Order comes into force.”
According to earlier information about Rampion 2, construction is planned to start in 2027, with the offshore wind farm expected to be fully operational before the end of the decade.
RWE is developing Rampion 2 on behalf of Rampion Extension Development Limited, a joint venture company owned by the Germany-based developer, a Macquarie-led consortium, and a subsidiary of Enbridge.
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