The Shell Flat Sandbank was the site of a proposed Cirrus Shell Flat Array
offshore wind farm
A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind tur ...
in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. It is located about off the coast between
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and ...
and
Cleveleys
Cleveleys is a town on the Fylde Coast of Lancashire, England, about north of Blackpool and south of Fleetwood. It is part of the Borough of Wyre. With its neighbouring settlement of Thornton, Cleveleys was part of the former urban district ...
.
[ The wind farm project was canceled in 2008.
]
History
The original application was submitted in 2003.[
] The new application with changed location was submitted in 2007.[
][
]
Description
The Cirrus Shell Flat Array would contain 90 turbines rated at 180 MW. A later redesign of the scheme, by Scottish Power, for 284 MW, was withdrawn from the planning process in November 2008.
Developers
The developer, Cirrus Energy, was a consortium made up of CeltPower Ltd (subsidiary of Scottish Power
Scottish Power is a vertically integrated energy company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a subsidiary of Spanish utility firm Iberdrola.
ScottishPower is the distribution network operator for Central and Southern Scotland, Merseyside, No ...
), Elsam A/S (now DONG Energy
Dong or DONG may refer to:
Places
* Dong Lake, or East Lake, a lake in China
* Dong, Arunachal Pradesh, a village in India
* Dong (administrative division) (동 or 洞), a neighborhood division in Korea
Persons
* Queen Dong (1623–1681), pri ...
) and Shell Wind Energy Aegir Ltd. Shell's interest in the project has subsequently been reported sold to the project's partners, Scottish Power and DONG Energy.[
] However, this was denied by Shell.[
]
Reasons for cancellation
The project was canceled due safety and environmental concerns. The application was withdrawn after the developers failed to reach an agreement with BAE Systems and the Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...
over concerns of an interference with their radar systems and a potential physical obstruction for low flying aircraft.[
] There were concerns that the wind farm would interfere with BAE Systems test flying at Warton.[
] Also potential risk to shipping was one of concerns.[
]
Construction of the wind farm was objected by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment throu ...
.[
] A large population of common scoter
The common scoter (''Melanitta nigra'') is a large sea duck, in length, which breeds over the far north of Europe and the Palearctic east to the Olenyok River. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek ''melas'', "black", and ''netta'', "du ...
s (sea duck) was found near the site.[
] This cause the relocation of site in 2005 more close to Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 census.
Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830s, when the principal lando ...
.[ However, the new site was in addition to BAE Systems and the Ministry of Defence also objected by the ]Blackpool International Airport
Blackpool Airport is an airport on the Fylde coast of Lancashire, England, in the Borough of Fylde, just outside the Borough of Blackpool. It was formerly known as Squires Gate Airport and Blackpool International Airport.
Ownership of the ...
and local fishermen.[
]
References
{{stack, {{Portal, England, Weather, Renewable energy
Proposed wind farms in England
Offshore wind farms in the Irish Sea
Shell plc
Ørsted (company) wind farms