500-megawatt offshore windfarm gets green light

An offshore wind farm that will provide enough electricity to power 372,000 homes has been given the go-ahead, it was announced yesterday. The 500-megawatt Duddon Sands scheme, off the coast of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, is one of the UK's largest offshore wind farms agreed to date. It will comprise up to 139 turbines and the energy secretary, John Hutton, has also approved plans for another 150MW wind farm nearby. He said the farms would significantly increase the amount of renewable energy in Britain, "helping to cut the UK's carbon emissions and secure our energy supplies". Press Association