Abstract
S.1 SMart Wind Ltd (hereinafter referred to as SMart Wind) on behalf of Heron Wind Limited, Njord Limited and Vi Aura Limited is promoting the development of Project One, comprising up to three offshore wind farms in the southern North Sea. The project will have a maximum generating capacity of 1,200 megawatts (MW). S.2 Project One is the first of a number of wind farm projects planned for the Hornsea Zone to meet a target Zone capacity of 4 GW by the year 2020. Project One is classed as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project and therefore requires a Development Consent Order (DCO) under the Planning Act 2008. S.3 Project One includes all offshore infrastructure (e.g., turbines, offshore substations, inter array and export cables) and onshore infrastructure required to connect to the existing National Grid substation at North Killingholme, North Lincolnshire. The offshore wind farm will be located in the southern North Sea, approximately 103 km to the east of the East Riding of Yorkshire coast. The proposed landfall site for the Project One export cables is located at Horseshoe Point, North Coates, Lincolnshire, within the Humber Estuary. S.4 The purpose of this document is to assist the decision maker by providing information to inform the Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) for Project One and follows the Planning Inspectorate’s (PINS) guidance contained in Advice Note 10: Habitat Regulations Assessment relevant to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs), (PINS, 2013). This document is prepared in accordance with both the Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (the ‘Habitats Directive’) and the Council Directive 2009/147/EC of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds (the ‘Birds Directive’). This document presents the information required to determine likely significant effects on European sites and their qualifying features and, where necessary, considers whether any such effects would affect the integrity of the European sites.