Green light for wind farm to power one million homes

“Local communities continue to be given the opportunity of being involved in the examination of projects that may affect them,” the Planning Inspectorate said.

RWE said the wind farm would generate in excess of 300MW.

“Once fully constructed, Five Estuaries would be capable of generating sufficient electricity to power the equivalent of up to 1 million typical UK homes annually,” it said.

The development will span 28 sq km (49 sq miles) and be spread across two seabed areas.

It will also consist of offshore substations and cabling, with an onshore substation to allow connection to the National Grid.

Electricity would be transmitted onshore via cables to Sandy Point, which is located between Frinton-on-Sea and Holland-on-Sea.

RWE said the wind farm would “support long-term investment in the East of England region”.

“During construction and operations, the project would support hundreds of new and existing skilled jobs, both directly and across the wider supply chain,” it said.

The company also said it believed the development “could play an important role” in supporting “the Government’s transition towards a decarbonised electricity system” while securing “domestically generated clean power”.

Danielle Lane, RWE director of development for UK and Ireland, said: “We are delighted to have received development consent for Five Estuaries.

“This achievement reflects years of dedicated community engagement and collaboration with local stakeholders.”