World’s biggest wind farm opens

The world’s largest working offshore wind farm opens today off the north west coast of England.

The Walney Extension, a Danish-led and funded project in the Irish Sea off Cumbria, has 87 turbines – each around twice the height of Big Ben, standing approximately 190 metres high.

The windfarm is nearly 12 miles off Walney Island, Barrow-in-furness, and covers an area of 145 square kilometres – equal to 20,000 football pitches. It is capable of generating 695 megawatts, enough green energy to power around 600,000 homes and uses more than 300km of cables to connect the turbines offshore to the National Grid onshore.

Walney Extension overtakes the current largest operational wind farm, London Array, off Kent.