Eastbourne and Willingdon MP Caroline Ansell got up close and personal with Sussex’s Rampion offshore wind farm after she made a boat trip to the energy source.
Caroline went out to the 116-turbine facility with colleagues from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Environment recently in glorious weather.
Rampion generates enough clean, green electricity to power 350,000 UK homes – nearly half the homes in Sussex. Doing so saves nearly 600,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
Operator RWE showed the group around and explained how the farm works and its plans for an extension to Rampion to bring more renewable power generation to Sussex.
Caroline was also told about job opportunities with the farm’s operations and maintenance base built at Newhaven Port.
There is a 60-strong team of wind turbine technicians, apprentices, engineers, marine workers and administrative staff dedicated to keeping the turbines working.
“It was an amazing opportunity to see Rampion in action and see the majestic turbines generating clean energy for half the homes in Sussex and for tens of thousands of homes in Eastbourne,” said Caroline.
“There are plans for a second array – Rampion 2 – in the pipeline and this is a really important part of our cleaner, more sustainable, more secure energy future.
“The war in Ukraine has made the case for a homegrown clean energy mix very pressing. I support the government’s British energy strategy, of which offshore wind in Sussex is very much part.”
Tom Glover, UK Country Chair at RWE added: “We were delighted to have the opportunity to host Parliamentarians on a trip to the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm last week.
"Rampion is playing a positive role in providing clean, green, renewable power to communities across Sussex, alongside new jobs and investment at Newhaven Port and a £3m community benefits package that supports local charities and organisations.
"Offshore wind is fast becoming the backbone of our energy system, and is shaping up to play an even greater role in securing the UK’s future clean, affordable power supplies.
"RWE, as operator of the Rampion wind farm and a global pioneer of offshore wind, is investing up to £15bn in the UK’s green infrastructure by 2030 as a leading partner in the delivery of the Government’s offshore wind aspirations.”
