An offshore site consisting of 300 wind turbines is to be built near Hornsea and is expected to generate enough electricity to power 1.8 million homes.
Built 55 miles off the East Yorkshire coast, the site is to neighbour a smaller collection of turbines that is expected to generate enough power for an additional 1 million homes.
Greg Clark, the Business and Energy Secretary has said that his consent will lead to “jobs and economic growth right across the country”.
“The UK’s offshore wind industry has grown at an extraordinary rate over the last few years, and is a fundamental part of our plans to build a clean, affordable, secure energy system,” he said.
It is expected that the developments will create 2,000 new jobs during construction, alongside a further 300 — directly and indirectly —when it is running.
The site will cover an area of more than 58,000 football pitches and will be connected via a cable to the National Grid at an offshore site in Killingholme, North Lincolnshire.
Friends of the Earth, the Green Party, and Labour have praised the move but have urged the Government to pursue a low carbon economy.
Currently £730 million of financial support is available for renewable electricity generation and the parliament expects 10GW of offshore wind energy to be installed by the end of the decade.
The UK is currently the sixth largest wind power producer in the world, falling behind India, Spain, Germany, the USA, and China.
Since 2006 the UK has installed 11,640MW of electricity, from 1,963MW to 13,603MW in 2015. Wind power is currently delivering an estimated 12 per cent of the UK’s electricity needs, a figure that is expected to rise to 20 per cent by 2020.
Offshore power is expected to account for 10 per cent of this figure.
Despite support from many, The Daily Mail reports that animal wildlife charities such as the RSPB have objected to the planning, describing the turbines as “devastating” to migratory birds.
The newspaper’s comments understandably show a wide and varied range of displeasure.
