Greenpeace placed boulders weighing up to two tonnes each off the Norfolk coast to protect harbour porpoises, unaware the area was earmarked for a major energy installation. The organization had verified the seabed was free of existing cables and shipwrecks prior to the drop, though it did not obtain marine authority consent. Developer RWE is assessing potential risks to future undersea cabling, with the celebrity-signed stones expected to be removed prior to construction next year. Greenpeace maintains the obstacle is minor, noting offshore developers routinely clear naturally occurring rocks of much greater weight.
Key points
Offshore developer RWE is holding constructive talks with Greenpeace to map boulder locat…: Offshore developer RWE is holding constructive talks with Greenpeace to map boulder locations and update seabed surveys.
Greenpeace dismissed concerns that the action would delay clean energy, arguing developer…: Greenpeace dismissed concerns that the action would delay clean energy, arguing developers routinely clear much larger natural boulders.
The protective stones are expected to be cleared within months before scheduled windfarm…: The protective stones are expected to be cleared within months before scheduled windfarm construction begins next year.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
The giant offshore windfarms backed by Andy Burnham this week may face unexpected stumbling blocks after Greenpeace activists unwittingly dumped about 15 tonnes of boulders on to the site as part of a campaign against seabed trawling in the North Sea.
Greenpeace created the “boulder barrier” to safeguard harbour porpoises off the Norfolk coast by dropping giant stone blocks, each weighing up to 2 tonnes, on to the sea floor to prevent a method of fishing known as bottom trawling.
The barrier will pose an additional challenge for the green energy developers because most of the boulders were dropped on to the site earmarked for one of the UK’s biggest planned windfarms, known as the Norfolk Vanguard project.
Greenpeace began dumping boulders on to the site, without consent from the marine authority, days before the prime minister told the Cop31 summit that the UK would invest £1bn of public money in the Vanguard West and Vanguard East windfarms in what is believed to be the biggest investment of its kind in UK history.
The Guardian understands that Greenpeace checked the…
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