Site Selected

By October 2010, Vattenfall had completed a structured site-selection process for the Kentish Flats Extension, moving from multiple options to a single preferred extension area. Following The Crown Estate’s prerequisites for Round 1 and 2 extension projects, Vattenfall commissioned Royal Haskoning in 2009 to carry out a constraints assessment that identified five potential extension areas around the existing Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm where development was not immediately precluded by infrastructure, designated shipping lanes, or other hard constraints. These options were assessed against criteria including proximity to shipping routes, the physical environment, sensitive marine ecological features, and other human uses, informed by experience from developing and operating the original Kentish Flats project. Vattenfall then undertook targeted consultation on these potential areas with key statutory consultees: the Port of London Authority (PLA), Natural England, and Canterbury City Council. Stakeholder feedback highlighted concerns and preferences, particularly relating to navigation safety, ecological sensitivities, and local interests. On the basis of this consultation, the original five development areas were refined and reduced, and their boundaries adjusted, leading to the selection of a single preferred site. This preferred option, located to the west and south of the existing wind farm and specifically chosen to mitigate effects on shipping and avoid particularly sensitive ecological areas, is described in the scoping report as the option "now being taken forward as the Kentish Flats Extension." This decision effectively confirms the project’s extension site and underpins the subsequent Environmental Impact Assessment and consent strategy.