The world

The world’s largest offshore wind farm The London Array is now fully operational as the last of its 175 wind turbines comes online.

The London Array wind power project, jointly owned by Dong Energy, Masdar and EON, said that the first phase of the project in the Thames estuary has now been completed.

The installation is now exporting enough energy to power 500,000 homes via an onshore station at Graveney, near Faversham.

The windfarm is set to generate 630MW which will result in an estimated cut in CO2 emissions of more than 900,000 tonnes a year. A proposed second phase could boost total capacity to 870MW.

“This is the final major milestone of the construction phase and the culmination of more than two years’ offshore construction work which began in March 2011 with the installation of the first foundation,” said London Array project director Richard Rigg.

RenewableUK’s chief executive, Maria McCaffery, has called on the Government to ensure offshore wind is adequately supported through the upcoming Energy Bill.

“Britain has a real achievement to celebrate here,” she said. “The largest operational offshore wind farm in the world is generating clean electricity for British homes and businesses. It’s a monumental feat of green engineering.

“To hold on to the UK’s global lead in offshore wind, it’s vital we maintain this momentum. We must ensure that the crucial legislation going through Parliament right now – the Energy Bill – sets a rock-solid framework to encourage investment in renewables.”