Therese has today opposed the ‘completely unacceptable’ proposals put forward in the latest Sealink consultation, designed to transport offshore wind power from East Suffolk to the Kent coast and has questioned the need for more onshore infrastructure in the county when alternatives are available. The consultation proposals recommend landfall into Aldeburgh with underground cabling to a convertor station to the southeast of Saxmundham then further cabling into a substation at Friston, which is currently subject to a judicial review.
Therese said: “I have been clear and continue to press the case that onshore connections for offshore wind should be placed on brownfield land, especially as East Suffolk will already be hosting the new Sizewell C nuclear power station. The Sealink proposals and the impact they will have on our precious landscapes and the quality of people’s lives are completely unacceptable when alternatives are available. I also question the overall need for Sealink. There is absolutely no need to deviate power generated offshore into Suffolk if its final destination is the South East.”
Therese added: “The inclusion of Sealink in the government’s Offshore Coordination Support Scheme process also opens the door for a complete re-evaluation of this project. Coordination with Five Estuaries and North Falls will likely mean a very different project to what is being consulted upon and so will need to be consulted upon again or risk further judicial reviews. The recent National Grid ESO written commitment to look at offshore alternatives to pylons across East Anglia reinforces the point that power needs to come ashore closer to the population it is intended to serve.”
“I, therefore, strongly urge National Grid Electricity Transmissions to look for alternative landfall sites away from the Suffolk coast. This could be into the Isle of Grain, as is being explored for Nautilus or Bradwell.”
You can read Therese’s full consultation response here.
Photo: The proposed landfalll site at RSPB North Warren, Aldeburgh.
