A £1.5bn wind farm project off the coast of Sussex is to begin construction next month, it has been announced.

The 336W Galloper Offshore Wind Farm is to receive financial backing from the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB), Siemens Financial Services and Macquarie Capital.

The partners will now join RWE Innogy in becoming 25% joint equity partners of the scheme.

The project is located close to its existing sister project, Greater Gabbard off the Suffolk cost.

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It was awarded development rights by The Crown Estate in May 2010 and will begin operations by March 2018.

Around 700 jobs are set to be created during construction, with 90 jobs generated once the farm is operational.

As part of the agreement, Siemens will supply and install 56 six megawatt turbines, along with delivering a 15-year maintenance contract.

Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom said: "This is fantastic news for the region and the whole of the UK, reflecting the fact that we are open for business and the best place in the world to invest in offshore wind. This milestone shows how the UK's offshore wind industry is going from strength to strength."

Hans Bünting, CEO of RWE Innogy, added: "Today's announcement is the culmination of many months of successful negotiations with our partners and investors and shows that the UK is still a strong market for offshore renewables."

(LM/MH)