Galloper Wind Farm Project - National Infrastructure Planning

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8.0 Cumulative Effects
8.1. Introduction
8.1.1. As detailed in Appendix 1, the potential cumulative effects arising from the
proposed GWF will be confined to an area within which one or more
operational, consented or ‘in planning’ offshore or onshore wind farm is
located within 30-35km of a coastal receptor and within the 45km radius
study area for the proposed GWF. As such, this section does not consider the
magnitude or significance of the effects arising from the individual
cumulative wind farm developments, but instead looks at the additional
seascape, landscape and visual effects arising from the combination of WTGs
of the proposed GWF with one, or more, of the identified offshore and/or
onshore wind farms.
8.2. Assessment Scenarios and Methodology
8.2.1. As detailed in Section 2.2, there are currently three operational offshore wind
farms and three consented offshore wind farms located within the study area.
These comprise the operational Gunfleet Sands I & II offshore wind farms;
the operational offshore wind farm at Thanet; the consented GGOWF; and
the consented offshore wind farms at London Array (I and II).
8.2.2. As all of the above wind farms are either operational or consented, their
influences on the existing landscape resource, seascape character and visual
environment of the study area has been considered as part of the baseline of
this assessment. At the time of assessment (May 2011) many of the GGOWF
and London Array I WTGs were in place.
8.2.3. In addition, an extension to Gunfleet Sands is in planning. It forms a two
WTG extension to Gunfleet Sands I and II and the Gunfleet Sands I and II
wind farms would lie between the extension and the GWF. It lies further
than 45km from GWF. The cumulative effects of the Gunfleet Sands
Extension windfarm and GWF will be Negligible and have not been
considered as part of the cumulative assessment.
8.2.4. Due to the distance of the operational Thanet wind farm from the coastal
receptors identified in the study area, the cumulative effects of the proposed
GWF in combination with the Thanet offshore wind farm have not been
considered as part of the cumulative assessment for onshore receptors.
8.2.5. Due to the distance of East Anglia ONE site from the coastline
(approximately 45km) the cumulative effects of this development are not
assessed for onshore receptors. In accordance with the method in Appendix
1, only those wind farm projects which are within 30 - 35km of a coastal