Latest Notices to Mariners
The project description for North Falls will be developed as work progresses, taking into account inputs from the scoping opinion, preliminary environmental information report (PEIR) and ongoing engineering and survey work, stakeholder engagement and feedback from our consultations.
North Falls Offshore Wind Farm is being developed on a 95km2 site located between 42km and 54km offshore in the southern North Sea, adjacent to its sister project Greater Gabbard. It will comprise up to 57 turbines each standing up to 377m tall.
Offshore surveys have been undertaken as part of the development process including ornithology, geophysical and benthic ecology, shipping and navigation, and fisheries-related work.
| Duration | Survey |
|---|---|
Mar 2019 – Feb 2021 |
Offshore birds and marine mammals survey (complete) |
Apr 2021 – Jul 2021 |
Geophysical and benthic survey (complete) |
Summer 2022 |
Offshore vessel traffic survey (complete) |
Winter 2022 |
Offshore vessel traffic survey (complete) |
National Grid provides the project with its onshore grid connection point and it evaluated numerous potential locations in the east of England, settling on a location within the Tendring peninsula. Based on this offer, North Falls has been carrying out a site selection process to identify a location for our own substation as well as a cable corridor. Evaluation criteria includes environmental, technical and electrical constraints.
The landfall – where the wind farm’s offshore export cables come to shore – will be near Frinton-on-Sea, defined after thorough engineering and environmental reviews and surveys that considered offshore designated sites, nature reserves, land use, historic features and technical feasibility. The location of the landfall construction compound was identified following the project’s statutory consultation in 2023.
| Duration | Survey |
|---|---|
Oct 2020 – Mar 2021 |
Onshore overwintering birds survey (landfall) - year 1 (complete) |
Mar 2021 – Sep 2021 |
Onshore ecology surveys (complete) |
April 2021 - Sept 2021 |
Onshore breeding and passage bird survey - year 1 (complete) |
Oct 2021 – Mar 2022 |
Onshore overwintering birds survey (landfall) - year 2 (complete) |
Mar 2022 – Sep 2022 |
Onshore ecology surveys - habitats and species (complete) |
April 2022 - Sep 2022 |
Onshore breeding and passage bird survey - year 2 (complete) |
Oct 22 - March 23 |
Onshore overwintering birds survey (cable corridor/substation zone) - year 2 (complete) |
Spring 2023 |
Archaeological geophysical survey (complete) |
Spring 2023 |
Onshore targeted trial trenching (complete) |
To see how the project could look from various viewpoints onshore, you can visit our 3D interactive visualisation model. There are instructions on how to navigate the 3D computer-generated model which includes a map, project boundaries and links to the various viewpoints. Users can change the height of turbines, alter the weather and have the choice of different coastal locations from which to view the proposed wind farm. There are now a total of 17 viewpoints in Suffolk, Essex and Kent, with accompanying photospheres.
