The development of Walney Extension Offshore Wind Farm has reached a 'ground-breaking' moment, according to DONG Energy.

Construction of the onshore substation is now underway in Heysham, Lancashire.

Development of the substation is a 'key part' of preparatory works for the project.

When the wind farm is operational, the facility will receive electricity generated by the farm and feed it into the national grid.

The Walney Extension Offshore Wind Farm will be located approximately 19 kilometres off the Cumbrian coast, next to the 367.2MW Walney Offshore Wind Farm.

When operational, it is expected to be one of the world's largest offshore wind farms.

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The extension will generate a total of 660MW, enough electricity to power approximately 460,000 homes.

John Agnew, Deputy Construction Manager for the onshore substation at DONG Energy, said: "This is a really exciting moment in the project. The onshore substation is one of the most important features of the wind farm, as it will take the electricity generated and feed it into the national grid for people to use.

"It's always a pleasure to see these projects take shape and deliver a variety of benefits to the local region. We are committed to working with local subcontractors and supply chains to ensure we are investing in the community, both in the construction stages of the Project and throughout its entire lifetime."

The Walney Extension Offshore Wind Farm was granted consent in November 2014.

Onshore construction for the extension will include the onshore substation, the onshore underground cable route and a landfall site where the cable reaches the shore, joining to the offshore cable.

This onshore substation ground-breaking leads the way for the next stage of the project's development, which will be the onshore cable installation early in 2016.

(LM)