The world’s largest operational offshore wind farm is set to open today in Cumbria.
Located 12 miles off Walney Island in Barrow in Furness, the Walney Extension has 87 turbines – each around twice the height of Big Ben, standing approximately 190 metres high.
The Danish-led and funded project can generate enough green energy to power around 600,000 homes.
It overtakes the current largest operational wind farm, London Array, off the Kent coast in the Thames Estuary.
Construction of the project started in 2015, and has been completed by Danish energy firm Orsted, with the backing of two Danish pension funds.
Each turbine’s blades were manufactured in the UK, in Hull and the Isle of Wight, and the project used key suppliers across the UK, Orsted said – with ongoing operations and maintenance activities for the wind farm based in Barrow and supporting around 250 jobs.
Read more: Standard