Seeking consent

(GGOWL), an Airtricity and Fluor joint venture, recently submitted an application for development consent for the construction of a 500 MW offshore wind farm. The site will be located 25km off the coast of

around the Inner Gabbard and Galloper sandbanks.

The application was submitted to the DTI, DEFRA and Suffolk Coastal District Council (SCDC) and follows the awarding of an Agreement for Lease by The Crown Estate in December 2003.

Since awarding of the lease, GGOWL has undertaken extensive environmental and site investigation surveys, has secured a connection to the electricity grid at Sizewell in Suffolk and installed a wind monitoring mast.

This project is the first offshore wind farm to seek consent outside UK territorial waters. This was enabled by the Energy Act 2004 under which a Renewable Energy Zone has been declared for the UK continental shelf, triggering the UK's rights under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 to regulate renewable energy installations.