Pop-up shop set up in fight against energy hubs

Offshore4sure campaign volunteers Jennie Pink and Ken Bate in the pop-up shop in Saxmundham

Campaigners battling to keep wind energy infrastructure projects offshore have set up a pop-up shop to highlight their concerns.

The group "Offshore4sure" said at least three projects, LionLink, Nautilus and SeaLink, would result in converter stations being built on agricultural land close to Saxmundham, Suffolk.

Volunteers set up a temporary information centre in the town's High Street outlining alternative options for an offshore grid, with substations on brownfield sites, such as at Bradwell, in Essex, and closer to demand.

National Grid said it was "good to see community groups creating opportunities for local people to share their views".

The pop-up shop aims to “raise awareness about National Grid plans for converter stations”

The information centre has been set up by Saxmundham Against Needless Destruction (SAND), which is working under the umbrella group Offshore4sure.

Charlotte Fox, a volunteer with Offshore4sure, said: "Our message is not doom and gloom because it's not over yet. There is still an opportunity to change things around.

"Even National Grid's own figures show that it will be cheaper to build an offshore grid, but they have a monopoly over projects, onshore, so if it goes offshore the projects would be open to competition.

"We can still avoid the needless destruction of our countryside. At Saxmundham there are going to be three, if not four, converter stations, and each one would be 27 metres high and would cover an area of 16 acres."

Volunteer Ken Bate, from Offshore4sure, said the pop-up shop would "let local people know what's really going on because they have an idea that something is happening but many have no idea of the sheer scale of what's being proposed".

Jennie Pink, a volunteer with the group, also expressed concern: "We have been kept in the dark about these plans, and people have now realised it's possible to step up and to exert some people power; otherwise we will lose what we value most dearly."

Consultations

Responding to comments made by campaigners, a spokesperson for National Grid said: "It’s important to note that there is no fully offshore solution to connect offshore wind to the grid in any country, and any offshore infrastructure would always need to connect on land so the energy can be transported."

National Grid said up to three of their projects proposed to co-locate converter stations at the same site at Saxmundham.

It said National Grid Ventures’ LionLink interconnector project had conducted two non-statutory consultations and the next chance for the community to feed into the plans for the project, including the converter station at Saxmundham, would be in 2025.

National Grid Ventures’ Nautilus interconnector project has conducted one non-statutory consultation on its proposals. Pending regulatory approval, the next opportunity for the community to comment would be during the statutory consultation in 2026.

National Grid Electricity Transmission project, Sea Link, has conducted three stages of consultation on its proposals. It expects to submit its Development Consent Order to the Planning Inspectorate in early 2025.

Offshore4sure said a better solution "involving an offshore grid using the North Sea Corridor to transport power closer to demand is a realistic and viable option. Other European countries like Belgium, Holland, Germany and Denmark have chosen modular offshore grids for their offshore spatial design strategies".

A National Grid spokesperson said: "We understand that people have concerns about the impact of energy projects on their local area. Local knowledge and experience are crucial to the development of project proposals, as it helps us deliver the best possible project for the community and local environment with the least possible disruption.

"In addition to our consultations, it is good to see community groups creating opportunities for local people to understand projects and share their views.

"We will contact the organisers of the pop-up shop to help ensure they have accurate and the most up-to-date information about National Grid projects."

Offshore4sure says a better energy solution would "involve an offshore grid using the North Sea Corridor"