Construction of the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm is now well underway.
The project reached a significant milestone in November 2016 as installation of all 116 turbine foundations was completed on schedule. The yellow transition pieces have also been fitted onto the foundations and now sit approximately 20 metres above sea level ready to hold the turbines.
March 2017
This month marks the installation of the first of 116 wind turbines at the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm, with the installations set to continue throughout 2017.
For further information on the first turbine installation, please red our latest press release here
For further information on the project, read our press release Piling work completed at Rampion Wind Farm.
If you’d like to view the Development Consent Order for the project, please click the link below.
Rampion infrastructure planning.
For up to date information on the onshore construction work, follow the links to Construction Updates below, or click here.
The new Brighton Diver 4 fast ultra-stable 1300hp catamaran with 360 degree viewing and heated inside cabin and proper toilet.
Before you book the slower –cheaper tours of the Rampion wind farm please check our reviews onFacebook and TripAdvisor
The south coast’s first offshore wind farm
The Rampion Offshore Wind Farm comprises 116 wind turbines that each sit on top of a foundation fixed into the seabed.
With an installed capacity of 400 megawatts (MW), it will generate 1,400 gigawatt hours (GWh) of green power each year, equal to the amount used annually by around 350,000 UK homes1, or almost half the houses in Sussex. It will reduce CO2 emissions by nearly 600,000 tonnes a year.
The wind farm site covers 70 square kilometres, so it is larger than the island of Guernsey, and is located in the English Channel between 13 and 20 kilometres off the Sussex coast.
When complete in 2018, it will create around 60 full-time permanent jobs. Rampion will be operated and maintained from a purpose-built base at Newhaven Port, and is already acting as a catalyst for the regeneration of the port area.
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Offshore components
Rampion features 116 MHI Vestas 3.45 MW turbines. The turbines are made up of an 80 metre (m) tall tower, a nacelle for the generation equipment, a hub, and three 55m long blades. When vertical, the tip of the turbine blade reaches 140m, which is just taller than the Brighton i360’s viewing pod at its top height.
The turbines sit on top of foundations, comprising single steel monopiles and bright yellow transition pieces, designed so they integrate together perfectly. There are 12 rows of 10 to 12 turbines that are connected by array cables taking the power to a single offshore substation. A total of 140 kilometres of array cables are buried in a network under the seabed. Laid end to end, the array cables would stretch from Brighton to London and back.
The wind turbines generate power at 33 kilovolts (kV) and the main role of the offshore substation is to transform this up to 150kV, to reduce any losses as it is transmitted to shore. The 2,000 tonne structure houses the electrical components at the heart of the wind farm including transformers, switchgear and control systems. It sits on a four-leg jacket foundation, fixed into the seabed and weighing around 900 tonnes.
Electricity will be transmitted from the offshore substation along two 16km subsea export cables, which come to shore at the beach, next to Brooklands Pleasure Park in East Worthing.
Next Rampion wind farm trips
October to December 2024
Next Rampion wind farm trips are below please call Paul if you would like to book 07901822375 email paul@brightondiver.com
Gift Vouchers
Available for 2025
Gift vouchers are the perfect way to communicate your cool gift to see this Green energy being produced up close.
Please email paul@brightondiver.com
Other dates available for private charters
If you don’t see your date it may be available please email,
October
Wednesday 2nd ——-0930 depart——1200 depart
Saturday 5th —–depart 0930—– full
Sunday 6th ——0930 depart—–full
Monday 7th ——–depart 0930 —–depart 1200
Wednesday 9th ——-0930 depart
Saturday 12th —–depart 1200—full
Sunday 13th —–depart 1200—-full
Saturday 19th —–depart 1200—full
Sunday 20th ——0930 —–depart —full
Saturday 26th —–depart 1200—x1 space
Sunday 27th ——0930 —–depart 1200
Wednesday 16th ——-0930 depart——1200 depart
Saturday 19th —–depart 0930 x1 space
Sunday 20th ——0930 depart
Saturday 26th —–depart 1200 x1 space
Sunday 27th ——0930 depart——1200 depart
Wednesday 30th ——-0930 depart——1200 depart
November
Saturday 2nd —–depart 1200
Sunday 3rd ——0930 —–depart 1200
Wednesday 6th ——-0930 depart——1200 depart
Saturday 9th —–depart 1200
Sunday 10th ——0930 —–depart 1200
Wednesday 13th —–1200 depart
Saturday 16th —–depart 1200
Sunday 17th ——0930 —–depart 1200
Wednesday 20th ——-0930 depart——1200 depart
Saturday 23rd —–depart 1200
Sunday 24th ——0930 —–depart 1200
Tuesday 26th ——–1200
Saturday 30th —–0930 depart ——–depart 1200
December
Sunday 1st ——0930 —–depart 1200
Wednesday 4th ——-0930 depart——1200 depart
Saturday 7th —–depart 1200
Sunday 8th ——0930 —–depart 1200
Wednesday 11th ——-0930 depart——1200 depart
Saturday 14th —–0930 depart——-depart 1200
Sunday 15th ——0930 —–depart 1200
Wednesday 18th ——-0930 depart——1200 depart
Saturday 21st —–0930 depart——-depart 1200
Sunday 22nd—–0930 —–depart 1200
Wednesday 24th ——-0930 depart——1200 depart
Saturday 28th —–0930 depart——-depart 1200
Sunday 29th —–0930 —–depart 1200
Monday 31st —–1200
January
Wednesday 1st ——-1100 depart
Dates are subject to change. If you don’t see your date it may be available please email,
Other dates available for group bookings the trips need min x8 persons to go ahead.
Rampion Windfarm tour departs 0900 and 1200 1430 call Paul 07901822375 email paul@brightondiver.comBoat available Diving Fishing or Windfarm trip call Paul 07901822375 paul@brightondiver.com
Gift Vouchers
Available for 2024
Gift vouchers are the perfect way to communicate your cool gift to see this Green energy being produced up close.
Please email paul@brightondiver.com
The Rampion name was entered into a schools’ naming competition by Davison High School for Girls, and went on to win the public vote. The logo is a stylised version of the Rampion flower, the county flower of Sussex (below), and uses blue and purple hues in its colour.
From landfall, 27km of buried onshore cables will transport the power to a new onshore substation in Twineham, Mid Sussex. The cables have been installed in ducts laid in trenches that were backfilled prior to the cables being pulled through. A technique called horizontal directional drilling was used at four landmarks along the route – under the A27, the River Adur, railway line and, the A259 and Lancing Beach. By drilling under each of these, traffic and trains were not interrupted, the beach could remain open and environmental impact to the River Adur was minimised.
At the new substation, the electricity will be transformed from 150kV to 400kV and then transmitted to the existing National Grid substation. From here it will enter the national grid for use by homes, businesses and the wider community.
Construction time frame
Construction of the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm began in 2015 and is due to be fully operational in 2018, with the final completion date being largely dependent on logistics and weather during the construction period. Reinstatement of the onshore cable route will be monitored for 10 years and the wind farm itself will have a lifespan of 20 to 25 years.
