UK approves Greater Gabbard wind farm

A wind farm with the power to supply clean electricity to over 415,000 homes - more than all the demand in Suffolk County, where it will be located - was approved today by Alistair Darling, UK Secretary of State for Trade and Industry today.

The Greater Gabbard (GG) project is to supply 500MW through 140 turbines. It's being developed by the companies Airtricity and Fluor.

It is to be placed close to two shallow sandbanks - the Inner Gabbard and the Galloper - around 23km (12 miles) from the Suffolk coast. The sites will occupy an area of nearly 150 square kilometres within the outer Thames Estuary strategic wind farm area.

"We are seeing this industry grow by the day. Only two weeks ago we reached the 2GW wind energy landmark. It took more than 10 years to get the first GW, and less than 20 months to get the second," said Darling.

"We must start moving towards a zero carbon economy now, which involves a significant increase in the uptake of clean technologies, especially renewable energy," said UK Climate Change Minister Ian Pearson.

"Wind reduces risk because the cost of the power offered will be fixed in price and offers price benefits for the consumer. Such large-scale offshore wind provides consistent power and will push down the prices for fossil fuels. This price decrease is caused by the diminishment in demand for fossil fuels, something we've seen frequently in Northern Europe," said Eddie O'Connor, Airtricity CEO.