Offshore wind farm developer keen to hear from Lincolnshire community
Two information days are being held for the public to meet senior members of the development company and learn more about a proposed wind farm project close to Alford.
At up to 3.6GW of installed capacity, Ossian would be amongst the largest floating offshore wind farms globally and when operational could power up to six million homes a year.
The wind farm will be located approximately 80kms off the east coast of Scotland, with the renewable energy generated being delivered to the national grid at two new substations in Lincolnshire, one at Weston Marsh, near Spalding, and the other close to Alford.
Members of the public are being invited to attend the information days and ask any questions they may have about the project, its potential impact and how the local community may benefit.
The information sessions mark the beginning of an extensive programme of engagement and consultation events.
Paul Darnbrough, Ossian’s consents team manager, said: “Local community engagement and hearing views and opinions early, is very important to the team.
“Our aim is to foster open and honest communication with the communities in which we will be developing and operating.
“These information days will be the first of many opportunities to feed into our project plans.
“Ossian plans to install subsea cables from the wind farm off the coast of Scotland to a landfall on the Lincolnshire coast. From there the power would be transmitted to the National Grid’s electrical system via underground cables to new project converter stations.
“The proposals are at an early stage in their development, and we’re committed to meaningful engagement with local communities and stakeholders to help shape and inform the project.
“We are looking forward to the opportunity to speak with the community, answer questions, and address any concerns they may have.”
The events are being held at Aby Village Hall (near Alford) on School Lane, Aby, 3pm – 7pm on Wednesday October 2; and at Moulton Seas End Village Hall, 21 Seas End Road, Moulton Seas End, Spalding, 3pm – 7pm on
Thursday October 3.
The proposed Ossian Project is being co-developed by SSE Renewables, Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corporation and Danish fund management company Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.
Combining local expertise and global experience in developing offshore wind, the team behind the scheme say the project could deliver significant social, economic and decarbonisation benefits to the UK.
Ossian will also be supporting local community projects and working with neighbouring infrastructure developments.
The project is planning academic engagement and outreach with education and relevant stakeholders in Lincolnshire to build up a picture of what expertise is available locally.
There will be further stages of public consultation in 2025 ahead of the application for consent to develop the transmission works being submitted in 2026.
Further information on the development of Ossian’s transmission works will be made available via ossiantransmission.com as the project progresses.
As well as being able to feedback in person at both information days, the project team can also be contacted via email: [email protected] or by Freepost to Ossian Transmission and by phone on 0800 1385407.
Ossian is one of the largest lease areas of the ScotWind projects, occupying 858km2 of seabed 84km off the east coast of Scotland.
The project leaders say the scale and floating technology make it a ‘game changer’ in the UK renewable energy sector and a critical driving force behind the journey to net zero offsetting up to 7.5m tonnes of carbon emissions.
It is expected to provide a significant economic boost for the supply chain, with a multi-million-pound fund committed to support local orders and investments.