In Hong Kong, Wind Prospect and CLP have welcomed the approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report on the proposed offshore wind farm project.
This approval represents an important milestone in realising the
prospect of renewable energy for Hong Kong. It marks a conclusion to
the efforts that Wind Prospect and CLP have put into the environmental
assessment. It also signifies that building a commercial-scale offshore
wind farm of up to 200MW in the southeastern waters of Hong Kong will
be environmentally acceptable. This offshore wind farm will support the
Hong Kong Government’s 1–2% renewable energy (RE) target and will help
to respond to calls from the community for RE. CLP and Wind Prospect
have organised project briefings and visits to the project site for
interested groups over the past four years in order to listen to their
views. A 30-day public consultation on the project’s EIA study ended in
early July. Out of about 100 responses CLP received from the public via
the dedicated project website, 67% expressed support for the proposed
project and believed that it would be a good start for Hong Kong. Wind
Prospect began the feasibility study in 2005 and CLP joined as a
partner in 2006.