London – Britain’s energy ministry has approved the Dogger Bank Creyke Beck offshore wind project, the world’s biggest offshore wind park, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
The project is located in the British sector of the North Sea and is being led by a consortium called Forewind.
The government consent was a major milestone and a six-week judicial review period is now underway, a spokeswoman for the project said.
A final investment decision is expected to be taken within around two years, after which construction will begin, the spokeswoman added.
It will comprise up to 400 turbines totalling 2,400 megawatts (MW) in capacity, enough electricity for almost 2 million homes.
A decision on Forewind’s second application, for Dogger Bank Teesside A and B, is expected in August this year.
Britain currently has an installed offshore wind capacity of around 4.05 gigawatts (GW), the world’s largest, and is targeting up to 41 GW by 2030 in a bid to reduce carbon emissions in its electricity sector.
Reuters