A major wind farm 47km off the Norfolk coast has been given the go-ahead by the UK government, despite objections.
Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng ruled the "pressing need" for renewable energy outweighed concern over the "substantial harm arising from landscape and visual issues".
It came after a High Court judge last year quashed a decision to grant development consent to energy company Vattenfall’s 1.8-gigawatt Norfolk Vanguard offshore wind farm.
Retired RAF pilot Raymond Pearce, who lived near a cable route, had taken legal action against the Government over concerns about the effects the development would have on the landscape and the view.
But Mr Kwarteng today granted development consent for the wind farm, having re-determined the application.
A decision letter said: “The Secretary of State has balanced the substantial harm arising from landscape and visual issues against the substantial and pressing need for renewable electricity sources and considers that the latter should prevail.”
The wind farm will have up to 158 turbines.
Industry body RenewableUK has welcomed the decision, with its chief executive, Dan McGrail, saying it “demonstrates to the rest of the world that the UK is committed to taking significant practical action against climate change”.
He said: “Today’s decision secures significant investment in much-needed, new, energy infrastructure at a time when we need to speed up the transition away from expensive fossil fuels to cheap domestic sources of clean energy.
“Building this major project will generate enormous, economic benefits for East Anglia, creating high-quality jobs in our world-class offshore wind industry and the wider supply chain nationwide.”
Vattenfall said that the Norfolk Vanguard, together with the Norfolk Boreas offshore wind farm that was awarded planning consent in December, will produce enough electricity annually to power the equivalent of 3.9 million UK homes.
Danielle Lane, UK country manager for Vattenfall, said: “Today is a major step forward for a project that will help to unlock the huge potential of offshore wind for the UK.
“We’re committed to making sure that these projects bring real, lasting benefit to the east of England – with jobs, supply chain and skills investment throughout construction and operation.
“We’ll be working even more closely now with local communities as we begin to take the project towards construction.
“This will include preparatory works on the ground, but also work with our local partners to make sure we get our plans absolutely right to maximise benefits to the region.”
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