Planning Consent Submitted

Eclipse Energy UK plc submitted the Section 36 application under the Electricity Act 1989, alongside the associated Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (FEPA) and Coast Protection Act 1949 consent applications, to the Department of Trade and Industry in July 2005 for the Ormonde offshore wind farm — originally proposed as a hybrid wind/gas project incorporating 30 wind turbines and gas production from the Ormonde gas field, located in the Irish Sea approximately 10 km west of Walney Island, Cumbria. The supporting Environmental Statement (Ormonde Project EIA, dated July 2005 Rev 01) was prepared by Rudall Blanchard Associates (RBA), with technical input from HR Wallingford (coastal/seabed processes) and Unicomarine (benthic ecology). The project followed The Crown Estate's December 2003 Round 2 lease awards. The wind component was subsequently de-coupled from the gas project, and Vattenfall acquired Eclipse Energy in 2007. Section 36 consent was granted by the Secretary of State on 4 September 2008 to Ormonde Energy Limited (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vattenfall UK plc) for a 150 MW, 30-turbine wind farm. The Ormonde wind farm achieved commercial operation in February 2012, becoming the first offshore wind farm in the UK to use 5 MW turbines (REpower 5M).