The addition of Walney Extension is in line with the company’s strategy to have 6.5GW of installed capacity online by 2020.
The move follows approval from regulatory authorities, site assessments and signing of agreements for supply and installation to build the project.
To be build and operated under the UK’s EMR FID-enabling regime, the project will employ 40 units of 8MW turbines from MHI Vestas Offshore Wind and 47 Siemens 7MW offshore turbines.
Expected to become operational in 2018, the project is said to surpass the current biggest offshore wind farm in the world, 630MW London Array offshore wind farm.
The clean energy generated at Walney Extension will be enough to power over 460,000 UK homes.
Dong Energy executive vice president Samuel Leupold said: "British offshore wind has seen phenomenal growth in recent years. A prerequisite for long term growth in the industry is, that offshore wind eventually can compete on costs with other energy technologies.
"Building Walney Extension will bring us one step closer to that target, and I’m satisfied to see that we keep bringing costs down, while continuing to expand the UK supply chain.
"I’m also excited about the fact that turbine blades, part of the foundations and cable installation will come from UK manufacturing facilities and vessels and create local jobs."
The project is an extension to the existing 367MW Walney 1 and Walney 2 wind farms, in which Dong owns 50.1% stake, reported Bloomberg.
It is expected to create close to 500 jobs across the UK during construction phase and 350 jobs during the operation and maintenance phase.
Image: The project is an extension to the existing 367MW Walney 1 and Walney 2 wind farms. Photo: courtesy of DONG Energy A/S.
