RWE Innogy shelves 240-turbine Atlantic Array project

Plans for a huge wind farm off the north Devon coast have been shelved, with developer RWE Innogy, pulling the plug on the 240-turbine Atlantic Array project, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) told the BBC.

The scheme, which had yet to receive the go-ahead, had come in for criticism with environmentalists worried about its impact on marine wildlife in the Bristol Channel.

According to RWE Innogy, it was "not the right time" for the project.

The Atlantic Array had been planned to cover an area of 200 sq km about 16.5km from the north Devon coast, 22.5km (14 miles) from south Wales coast and 13.5km (8 miles) from Lundy Island nature reserve.

The 1,200 MW of electricity produced by the 220m turbines would have powered 900,000 homes according to the developer.

According to RWE, it was, ''not viable to continue with development in the Bristol Channel Zone".

RWE's director of offshore wind, Paul Cowling, said, it was not a decision that had been taken lightly. He said given the technological challenges and market conditions, the current juncture was not the right time for RWE to continue to progress with the project.

According to commentators the company's decision pointed to the central difficulty in achieving Europe's ambitious wind targets.

Though there was no dearth of huge plans, few investors were willing to stake the billions needed to build them, in an environment where government subsidy was essential but uncertain and costs could soar.

The UK had pioneered offshore wind power, installing more turbines than any other country, despite risky technology and the huge cash outlay needed for the next phase of development had hurt investor sentiment.

According to Emma Tinker of private equity firm HgCapital,  a long-established renewables investor, one worried at the moment when offshore was very expensive and relied on long-term government contract at a very high price, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Also there was uncertainty as to how it would operate in very harsh conditions" out at sea, she added.

Financial investors were essential to the future of offshore wind.

The UK, however had plans to up offshore-wind energy production from 3.65 GW at present enough to power 2.5 million homes - to 39 GW in a construction phase stretching out to 2030.

The financial outlay, though is massive - £37 billion would be needed to generate 16 GW, or less than half the final total, according to Industry body Renewable UK.