Energy Minister, Andrew Bowie visited east Suffolk today at the request of Therese - to meet local stakeholders concerned about the amount of energy infrastructure planned for the Suffolk Coast. As well as a roundtable meeting in Aldeburgh, Therese showed him directly the concerns she has about potential onshore landing points for offshore wind farms.
Therese said: “I thank the Minister for making the time to visit. It was a good opportunity to show him the local impact of housing around 30% of the UK’s future energy supply on a small stretch of the Suffolk Coast when there are other options available."
Therese added: “While I support the government's desire to have much more renewable energy electricity powering our nation including from windfarms, I have consistently made it clear that it is essential our precious landscapes and communities are protected by placing the onshore infrastructure in the most appropriate location. That’s why I opposed the Friston sub-station, the Nautilus proposals and why I am opposing the options set out in the Eurolink/Lionlink & Sealink consultations. I have previously been clear and pressed the case again with the Minister that onshore connections should be placed on brownfield land - and repeated my request for Bradwell in Essex to be assessed.”
“I’m pleased that the Minister was in listening mode and he intimated that there may be future changes as part of the ongoing Offshore Coordination Support Scheme work. For example, I’m pleased that it is now likely that the Nautilus project will be connected via the Isle of Grain potentially from a modular offshore grid. The same needs to be done for other connections and I will continue to press the case on this.”
