East Lothian Council’s Planning Committee has decided to unanimously approve variations to conditions that will support the progress of the Seagreen 1A onshore proposals at Cockenzie.
Seagreen 1a Limited submitted a Section 42 application (reference: 22/01364/PM) to East Lothian Council in late 2022 to vary planning condition 2 of their onshore planning permission in principle (PPP) application, which was originally consented by East Lothian Council in August 2021.
With approval of the application, a trenchless or a trenched solution to landfall cable installation may be taken forward, minimising any potential delays to the landfall cable installation. The final decision on the installation technique to be used will be informed by further ground investigation works and be subject to an application for the approval of ‘Matters Specified in Conditions’. This application is likely to be submitted to the Council later in 2023.
The approval includes a range of environmental safeguards, identified through the Environmental Impact Assessment process, with further details to be provided to the Council for approval before the development starts.
The Seagreen 1A project is a proposal to connect Scotland's largest offshore wind farm, Seagreen, to the UK national grid. Seagreen, 27km off the Angus coastline and 66km off the East Lothian coastline, will be able to generate 1.5GW from 150 wind turbines when fully delivered. Currently 114 of the 150 consented turbines, representing 1.1GW of installed capacity, are under construction offshore and will be connected to the grid via a connection into Tealing, Angus. Seagreen is due to enter commercial operations in summer 2023.
The Seagreen 1A project concerns the connection of the remaining 36 consented turbines to the national grid via a grid connection at Cockenzie in East Lothian. The plans consist of an offshore cable corridor from the offshore wind farm to Cockenzie and proposals for landfall, the onshore cable corridor and the onshore substation. In August 2021, planning permission in principle (PPP) for the Seagreen 1A substation and onshore cable infrastructure at Cockenzie was unanimously approved by East Lothian Council. In December 2021, Scottish Government Ministers consented the Marine Licence application, covering the offshore elements of the project, including an export cable approximately 110km in length to connect the project to the grid at Cockenzie.
"We welcome the decision by East Lothian Council to support the variation to the conditions attached to the planning permission and their continued support for the Seagreen 1A onshore proposals. The Seagreen proposals will help Scotland reach a net-zero carbon future."
Simon Hindson Lead Onshore Consents Manager for Seagreen