World’s largest offshore wind farm opens off British coast

The world's largest offshore wind farm, comprising 102 Siemens Wind Power turbines, each with a capacity of 3.6 MW, was inaugurated by Britain's energy secretary Ed Davey, about nine miles off the country's coast in the Irish Sea.

The new, $1.58 billion, 367-MW offshore wind farm off the Cumbrian coast will supply renewable power to 320,000 households. The Walney wind farm is a joint venture between power utilities DONG Energy, which holds a 50.1-per ent stake, SSE, with a 25.1-per cent and OPW with 24.8-per cent, and a consortium of Dutch pension fund service provider PGGM and Ampere Equity Fund.

''Offshore wind can make a real contribution to our renewable energy target,'' Davey said at the inauguration. ''The government wants this country to be a leader in the renewables sector. It is great news for our economy in terms of jobs that we create and exports.''

Britain generates more than 1,500 MW of offshore wind power and aims to bosot capacity to 18,000 MW by 2020. This would not only help meet growing energy demand, but also enable it to meet European Union goals for renewables and cut emissions by 34 per cent.

According to the energy secretary, Britain has invested about a billion pounds since April in offshore wind projects. Last month, Samsung Heavy Industries announced it would set up a 100 million pound offshore wind project in Scotland, creating more than 500 jobs.

''We've seen investment from pension funds, that's a really important signal, and I think it shows the confidence that we have a long-term strategy and that there's money to be made,'' said Davey.