Wind in Wales

The world's second largest offshore wind farm has been given the green light by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

Due to be built off the coast of north Wales, the Gwynt y Mor offshore wind farm, combined with three other nearby wind farms off the north Wales coast, will provide enough electricity to power the equivalent of 680,000 homes.

The 750MW development by Npower Renewables will comprise up to 250 turbines.

It will lie some eight miles off the coast, 10 miles from Llandudno and 11 miles from the Wirral.

The new farm will mean that the total number of offshore wind projects to be built in the UK could generate as much as 4.5GW of power.

Gwynt y Mor is the latest wind farm to be approved off the north Wales coast.

North Hoyle (30 turbines) and Burbo (25 turbines) are already up and running, and Rhyl Flats (25 turbines) is into the latter half of its construction phase.

A map of the four wind farms can be found at http://www.npower-renewables.com/gwyntymor/location.asp.

In granting approval, the DECC took into account the distance of the development from the shore and the work Npower Renewables had done to minimise the visual impact.