Airtricity, the Dublin-based renewable energy group, has won planning permission to proceed with the construction of a 500-megawatt wind farm off the east coast of England.
The Greater Gabbard Offshore Winds project, which is a joint venture with US group Fluor, was granted planning consent by the UK department of trade and industry. The venture has also received permission to connect the farm to the local electricity grid.
The wind farm, which will be situated 25km off the coast of Suffolk in the Outer Thames Estuary, will comprise 140 wind turbines and will provide electricity for more than 415,000 homes.
The farm, which through its location is seeking to take advantage of the windy conditions off England's east coast, will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by almost 1.5 million tonnes a year - equal to removing 350,000 cars from the road every year.
"This is a great boon for the UK," said Eddie O'Connor, chief executive of Airtricity, who likened wind energy to free power generation. "Wind on such a scale will bring strong economic and environmental benefits for the UK."
Yesterday's news follows an earlier announcement by Airtricity that it plans to help build a wind farm in Texas.
