Construction is due to begin on a 400MW offshore wind farm project near the coast of Sussex.

Work to install the first turbine foundations of the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm is set to begin this week.

The scheme is being developed by E.ON, the UK Green Investment Bank (UKGIB) and Canadian energy company Enbridge.

A total of 116 turbines will be installed 13km off the Sussex coast between Brighton and Lanching.

The development, which is set to become the first offshore wind farm off the south coast of England, is expected to supply the equivalent of up to 300,000 homes and reduce Co2 emissions by up to 600,000 tonnes a year.

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Preparatory works got underway in September and the initial load of foundations arrived on site last week.

Work at the northwest quadrant of the site is now set to begin.

Chris Tomlinson, E.ON Development Manager for the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm, said: "After almost six years of development, including community engagement, engineering and environmental surveys, it's a really proud moment to finally be installing the first foundations.

"These foundations will be piled into the seabed and will act as a base for each of the 140m turbines, which we will start erecting in early 2017.

"I'm pleased that our highly skilled team have been able to overcome the poor weather conditions that we've faced over the last few weeks and continue with the construction of the wind farm as planned."

It is understood the ongoing offshore construction work will be project managed from a temporary facility in Newhaven Port until the wind farm's Operations and Maintenance Base is completed in 2017.

(LM/MH)