Location: 14km off the coast of Northumberland
Site status: In planning
Planned capacity: To be confirmed – the Blyth site as a whole has a consented capacity of 99.9 MW, leaving a remaining capacity of 58.4MW
Number of turbines: 5
Background: The first phase of the wind farm consists of 5 wind turbines and was constructed in 2017. With a generating capacity of 41.5MW, it is the first UK offshore wind farm to use float and submerge gravity base foundations. EDF Renewables plans to build phase two of the Blyth Offshore Demonstrator (BOD) Wind Farm off the coast of Northumberland using floating offshore wind technology.
Next steps: The project has yet to select the key contractors including the turbine supplier but a range of floating technology options are being considered, with the final design still to be determined by further detailed engineering studies.
In addition, a variation to Section 36 and Marine license is being sought to change the following parameters:
• Include floating foundations within the consent (up to 5 semi-submersible or barge type platforms);
• Increased turbine size (four turbines of up to 258 m to tip or five turbines of up to 222 m to tip); and
• Increased individual turbine capacity (up to 14 MW).
The application to vary the marine licence and Section 36 consent has already been screened (EIA/2020/00026) by the MMO who concluded in their Opinion (27 November 2020) that the proposed works is screened out of requiring an EIA under the Electricity Works and Marine Works EIA Regulations.
The application link
Relevant section 36 consent link
Environmental statement link