UK government approves expansion of Walney offshore wind farm

The UK government has approved the expansion of the Walney offshore wind farm, 4 km west of Walney Island off the coast of Cumbria, in the Irish Sea, which is one of the largest in the world, Market Business News reported.

According to commentators, this could mean that its current 102 turbines could more than double.

Dong Energy, which owns and runs the wind farm located off Walney Island in the Irish sea, said yesterday that it welcomed the decision of the secretary of state for energy and climate to allow the Walney Extension project to go ahead.

Dong said it expected to use 6- to 8-MW turbines. The project, entirely owned by Dong, would extend the existing 367 MW at Walney 1 and 2 wind farms, in which it held a 50.1 per cent share, followed by SSE Plc owning 25.1 per cent and Dutch pension administrator PGGM and Ampere Equity Fund owning the remainder in a joint venture.

The extension has been awarded guaranteed power contracts by the government in April.

Dong Energy's vice president of UK Wind Power, Benj Sykes, said Walney Extension was expected to have generation capacity of up to 660 MW, with the potential to power up to half a million homes.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that approval comes as the country chases a EU target to get 15 per cent of all energy from renewables by 2020.

Dong Energy, would, following the approval be able to install up to 750 MW of turbines at the Walney Extension project in the Irish Sea off northwest England's Cumbria coast, the Planning Inspectorate said today in a statement.

''This decision to grant development consent now clears the way for the company to make a final investment decision on the project,'' Benj Sykes, Dong's vice president of wind projects in the UK.

The UK already had over half of the world's installed offshore wind-generating capacity, and was pushing the technology to help meet its renewable energy targets.