THE Government has today given its approval for a massive extension of a windfarm off the Wirral coast.

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Edward Davey has granted consent for the Burbo Bank development in Liverpool Bay.

The order covers all offshore work including turbines, substation, array cables and part of the of export cable.

Brent Cheshire, UK chairman of Dong Energy - the Danish company behind the scheme - said: "Today's announcement is an important step in clearing the way for the company to make a final investment decision on Burbo Bank Extension which, with a generating capacity of up to 250 megawatts, has the potential to power more than 170,000 homes."

Programme director Klaus Skoust Møller said: "I am delighted that we have received development consent which is a major landmark in the roll-out of this project. T

"This news is a great result at a key point of a project which has been a well-planned and transparent from the beginning.” 

The scheme will see the farm quadruple in size and is one of eight major renewable energy projects, expected to support 8,500 jobs, to have been given approval.

The application for a proposed extension to the Burbo Bank wind farm was shown the green light by the London-based Planning Inspectorate a year ago, but faced further scrutiny and public consultation.

Now an additional 65 turbines will be set up four miles off the coast covering an area of 40sq km.

Each turbine will have a maximum "tip height" of 770ft. Energy company Dong presently has 30 devices operating in the area.

The wind farms could cost up to £1bn each year in subsidies, but the Government says they would encourage firms to invest much more than that in low-carbon electricity generation.

 

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