Leading offshore wind developers Flotation Energy and Cobra have announced that their pioneering Celtic Sea floating offshore wind project, White Cross, has been granted full onshore and offshore planning approval.
The White Cross Offshore Windfarm project, applied to North Devon Council and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) in 2023 to construct and operate a 100MW floating offshore windfarm and for works to connect the windfarm to the grid.
The proposed windfarm, located 52km off the Devon coast, will consist of six to eight state-of-the-art floating wind turbines and, when operational, will generate enough clean electricity to power around 135,000 households.
The offshore application was submitted to the MMO in March 2023, and the onshore planning application was submitted to North Devon Council in September 2023. The applications were the subject of three rounds of public consultation.
Following the approval at North Devon Council’s Planning Committee on Wednesday 7 May, the council has now granted consent for the onshore elements of the project. Meanwhile the Marine Management Organisation has issued a Marine Licence under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 to enable the offshore elements of the project in accordance with the South West Marine Plan.
Sam Park, Senior Project Manager for the White Cross project said: "This is an important moment for the White Cross Offshore Windfarm, and for floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea. We are grateful to the North Devon Council and the Marine Management Organisation, and to everyone who has engaged with the project. In response to feedback, we have adapted our plans to minimise environmental and social impacts.
“The UK is already a leader in floating offshore wind technology, but until now this has only been via projects in Scottish waters. This decision gives us a valuable opportunity to harness this pioneering technology to help deliver the energy transition in the south west of England. By doing so, we will seek to spark the development of a specialised local supply chain, creating jobs whilst providing 135,000 homes with renewable energy."
White Cross Offshore Windfarm’s offshore export cable(s) will make landfall at Saunton Sands beach, before connecting to the onshore export cable(s). The onshore export cable(s) will be completely buried underground for their entire length and will travel approximately 8km to a new White Cross onshore substation which will accommodate the connection to the existing East Yelland substation. The cable(s) will pass beneath Braunton Burrows and the Taw Estuary via trenchless technology, designed to avoid any surface disruption within the Braunton Burrows Special Area of Conservation (SAC) dune system and the Taw-Torridge Estuary SSSI.
White Cross is a stepping stone project that is pivotal to the Crown Estate’s ambitions to scale-up and commercialise floating energy technologies in the Celtic Sea.
The project supports the UK Government’s target for offshore wind, alongside wider decarbonisation and energy security targets. White Cross will also play a key role in supporting the growth of a regional supply chain, whilst also creating new jobs and skills for local communities.