Celebrating Seaford

I recently enjoyed a fascinating boat trip with Sussex Boat Trips where we sailed 12 miles out to the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm.

Firstly, are you aware how the wind farm got its name? A pupil from a school in Worthing won a competition to name it. The name she chose was Rampion, a flower found mostly on the South Downs which is also known as ‘Pride of Sussex’. The flower was adopted as the county flower of Sussex in 2002.

The logo of the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm is based on the blue rampion flower not the blades of a wind turbine as commonly thought.

Rampion is the first offshore wind farm on the South Coast of England.

The location of the wind farm is an optical illusion. Wherever you are on the coast from Beachy Head to Selsey, when you look out to sea it appears the wind farm is ahead of you! It is actually located between Brighton and Worthing and covers an area of 72 km² which is roughly 28 square miles.

The project to create Rampion Wind Farm started in 2010, the consent to build was granted in July 2014. The foundations were laid between January and November 2016 and the wind turbines were installed between March and December 2017. By March 2018 all of the turbines were generating energy.

There are 116 turbines in total and they stand 140m (almost 460ft) high when measured to the tip of the blade. They are roughly a quarter of a mile apart.

The blades can turn into the wind to maximise the energy created. However if the wind is very strong the blades of the turbine adjust their angle, called ‘feathering’ which prevents them spinning too fast.

The blades have red circles painted on them. The Rampion Visitor Centre said these relate to aviation regulations for improved visibility and are dictated by the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority).

Now the turbines are well established each of the 116 turbines created have their own eco system beneath the sea creating an artificial reef where wildlife can flourish.

The operations and maintenance of the wind farm are carried out from a purpose-built facility located on the East Quay at Newhaven Port (see the first photograph of this article which was taken as we left port).

If you are interested in how the wind turbines convert wind to energy click here to see a demonstration of the process.

According to the latest press release Rampion Offshore Wind Farm supplies enough green energy to power the equivalent of almost 409,000 homes – around half the homes in Sussex – and reduces CO₂ emissions by up to 600,000 tonnes a year. 

There is a Rampion Visitor Centre in Brighton, details can be found here.

The story doesn’t end here. The Planning Inspectorate is currently examining an application for Rampion 2. If approval is given a new offshore wind farm measuring 196km². will be created. There will be up to 90 wind turbines and up to 3 offshore substations. The turbines could stand 325m (1066f) high. The higher the turbines the more efficient they are. It is hoped Rampion 2 Offshore Wind Farm, if approved, could power the equivalent of over one million homes and reduce carbon emissions by around 1.8 million tonnes per year. If it gets the go ahead Rampion 2 will be sited further west between Shoreham and Bognor Regis.