The proposed wind park is located off the Dorset and Hampshire coast and to the west of the Isle of Wight and covers an area of approximately 723 km2.  Over the past year, Eneco has been appraising the area and concluded that a project of between 900MW and 1200MW of capacity could be located in the northern part of the awarded area, a site which covers 76 square miles. This is enough power to supply between 615,000 and 820,000 homes and will offset approximately 1,186,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year. There are likely to be between 180 and 250 turbines, the larger versions reaching 165m in height.
Over the next two years, Eneco will be working closely with interested parties including statutory consultees and undertaking site-specific surveys prior to bringing forward a development consent application for the offshore wind park. It is anticipated that, subject to obtaining the relevant consents, construction of the wind park will commence in 2016 and it is hoped that the wind park will be fully operational by 2019. The exact site where the cable will come ashore has not yet been finalised but the sites being considered include Chewton Bunny. The cable will then be trenched across Christchurch Borough
and into East Dorset where it will be joined to the National Grid at Mannington Sub Station.
A statement of Community Consultation has been published which sets out how the company will talk to local authorities, community groups and the general public. A series of exhibitions and other consultation events will be held in the coming months starting with West Moors on 18 and 19 November. Further details of the development including the proposed cable route can be found by logging onto the website at: http://www.navitusbaywindpark.co.uk/project.aspx

Following on from my post on Wind Turbines, pleased to see the Solar Panel Farm at Slepe Farm open, more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-14717123.