On 26th September the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change granted development Consent for the Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farm in Liverpool Bay.

The project, proposed by Dong Energy will cover an area of 40 km² and with an estimated generating capacity of up to 250 MW. The proposed project would be located west of the operational Burbo Bank offshore wind farm in Liverpool Bay, around 7 km north of the North Wirral coast.

The Secretary of State concluded that there is a case for granting consent; "given the added contribution it would make to the production of renewable energy and that the potential adverse local impacts of the development do not outweigh the benefits of the scheme". The development was considered to be consistent with National Policy Statements: EN1 and EN3. The Development Consent Order was granted with some modifications to the draft order.

Construction is expected to commence later this year, with the wind farm becoming operational in 2017.

A link to the decision and the application documents can be found at the link below;

http://infrastructure.planningportal.gov.uk/projects/north-west/burbo-bank-extension-offshore-wind-farm/

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