The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Alok Sharma, has rejected a Development Consent Order application submitted by Vattenfall to extend the Thanet Offshore Wind Farm.
The decision, which had been due yesterday (June 1) has now been announced.
The Planning Inspectorate (PINS) accepted the proposed project for examination in 2018 following 18-months of consultation with residents and businesses by Vattenfall.
The Examining Authority issued a Recommendation Report to the Secretary of State on September 11, 2019. This report recommended that the Secretary of State should withhold consent for the project.
In the Vattenfall application the Swedish energy group proposed to deploy up to 34 wind turbines by 2023 in a development area close to the existing wind farm, 8km off Foreness Point. The scheme would have had a capacity of up to 340MW and would be capable of supplying renewable electricity annually to the equivalent of approximately 282,000 UK homes.
The turbines would have been up to 250 metres tall.