Thanet Offshore Wind has submitted formal consent for its planned development in the Thames Estuary strategic area, the third such large project with a total capacity of 1.8 GW to be submitted for consideration by the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) and Defra.
The 1 GW London Array submitted its application in June this year. The project is being developed by the consortium of CORE, E.On UK Renewables and Shell WindEnergy. This was followed in October by the 500 MW Greater Gabbard project, developed by Airtricity and Fluor. This project is unique as it is the first offshore wind farm to seek consent outside UK territorial waters.
Thanet Offshore Wind Farm has applied for consent to construct and operate 300 MW. If consents are awarded within 12 months, then construction could start in 2007-2008, with the projects being built out over a number of years after that.