UK-based ecology consultancy Thomson Ecology has been contracted by DONG Energy to undertake the Phase 2 ecological surveys to inform the 2.4GW Hornsea Project Three offshore wind farm onshore cable route Environmental Statement.
Over the next nine months, Thomson Ecology will be working with DONG Energy and its consultants to deliver the environmental survey support for the consent application for this project, including surveys for bats, reptiles, great crested newts, badgers, otters, water voles, and white-clawed crayfish.
Gabrielle Graham , Principal Ecological Consultant at Thomson Ecology, said: “As a specialist in delivering complex, multi-species projects, we are delighted to be involved with this project and have some boots on the ground! We have been using Thomson Interactive Mapping to navigate around the site, monitor survey progress and undertake data quality assurance.”
The Hornsea Project Three wind farm is located in the North Sea some 120 kilometres off the North Norfolk Coast.
DONG proposed an indicative area for the onshore cable route in February 2017.
The cables connecting the turbines to the National Grid will be buried underground and will connect into the existing Norwich Main National Grid Substation, just south of Norwich. The project will also require a new onshore substation in the vicinity of National Grid’s.
Hornsea Project Three is in the pre-application phase for gaining consent to be built. If successful, the construction of the wind farm is anticipated to take place between 2022 and 2025.