Vattenfall has been refused development consent for the 340MW Thanet Extension offshore wind farm by Alok Sharma, secretary of state at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

In the decision the secretary of state said that the wind farm, in the Thames Estuary off the Kent coast, rejected the application on the grounds that it could affect navigational safety as there was shipping traffic in immediately adjacent waters and adversely affect facilities and services used by the shipping. That included local ports where adverse effects would outweigh the benefits.

The secretary of state also cited concerns over the effect on a number of environmentally sensitive areas.

Danielle Lane, UK country manager for Vattenfall, said,“Naturally we’re very disappointed by this decision and will consider how we proceed from here. We continue to believe that Thanet Extension would be an important development for the local area, for UK energy security, and for the drive to reduce emissions.”

The decision comes shortly after BEIS delayed decisions on the Hornsea Three and Norfolk Vanguard wind farms, off the North Norfolk coast, until July.

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