Green Light for U.K. Walney 3 Offshore Windfarm

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--An offshore windfarm capable of powering up to 500,000 homes has been given the green light by the U.K. government.

The country continues to lead the world in offshore wind deployment, with permission granted for the 750-megawatt (MW) Walney 3 offshore windfarm project, located 19 kilometres (km) off Walney Island in the Irish Sea. Despite the approval for 750 MW--or 207 turbines--Danish project developer Denmark's DONG Energy A/S (Fredericia, Denmark) has decided to scale down the development to 660 MW.

The Walney Extension project is one of five offshore wind projects that signed an early Contract for Difference (CfD)--the new U.K. system for subsidizing low-carbon electricity generation. In June, the companies behind eight renewable energy projects with a combined generating capacity of 4,500 MW signed the first contracts under the new subsidy scheme.

CfD guarantees prices for electricity generated by the projects, making it easier for renewable energy suppliers to move ahead with final investment decisions. For additional information, see June 12, 2014, article - U.K. Pricing Deal for 4,500 MW of Green Power.

"Walney Extension is expected to have a generation capacity of up to 660 MW, with the potential to power up to half a million homes, and this decision to grant development consent now clears the way for the company to make a final investment decision on the project," said Benj Sykes, DONG Energy's Vice President of UK Wind Power. "With consent also granted to the Burbo Bank Extension project recently, this really underlines our commitment to investing in the U.K. and helping us move toward a low-carbon economy."

Last week, DONG and ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) (Glasgow, Scotland), part of Spanish energy giant, Iberdrola S.A. (MCE:IBE) (Bilbao, Spain), celebrated the official opening of the West of Duddon Sands offshore windfarm in the U.K. With 108 turbines, it has a generating capacity of 389 MW, enough to power approximately 280,000 homes. For additional information, see November 4, 2014, article - New U.K. Offshore Windfarm Opens.

In October, the U.K.'s Department for Energy and Climate Change granted permission for a 250-MW extension to the Burbo Bank offshore windfarm owned by DONG Energy. The Burbo Bank extension will cover an area of 40 square kilometres (km) and will be located in the Liverpool Bay, northwest of the Wirral coastline. It has the potential to power up to 170,000 homes. For additional information, see October 2, 2014, article - Green Light for 250-MW Burbo Bank Windfarm.

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