Green light given to Britain's biggest offshore wind farm

The go-ahead has been given by the British government to the building of what will be Britain's biggest offshore windfarm, with the ability to create enough energy to power two million homes.

The Dogger Bank wind farm will be built in the North Sea, almost 124 kilometers off the coast of Yorkshire in Northern England.

As well as creating work for 900 people, the farm, when built, will generate 2,400 megawatts of electricity.

There are already 6,000 wind turbines operational in Britain, around two thirds of them off shore in the seas around the British Isles.

Announcing the development, the government's Energy and Climate Change Secretary of State, Ed Davey said: "Making the most of Britain's home grown energy is creating jobs and businesses in the UK, getting the best deal for consumers and reducing our reliance on foreign imports. Wind power is vital to this plan, with 14.5 billion pounds invested around the UK since 2010 into an industry which supports 35,400 jobs."

The Dogger Bank project is being led by Forewind, a consortium of four big-name energy suppliers, British-based SSE and RWE, and Norway-based Statkraft and Statoil.

Forewind spokesman Tarald Gjerde said the organisation's four owners are thrilled that the first consent for the Dogger Bank Zone has been granted, taking the flagship development a step closer to supplying the UK with "such a significant amount of renewable energy, and to realising the many potential economic opportunities, particularly on the east coast."

"Achieving consent for what is currently the world's largest offshore wind project in development is a major achievement for Forewind and will help confirm the UK's position as the world leader in the industry,"

Forewind is now awaiting a decision on a second wind farm in another area of North Sea off the North East region of Teeside, also in the Dogger sea area of the North Sea. A final decision is expected to be made in August of this year. Endit