ScottishPower Renewables has chosen Peel Ports Great Yarmouth as the construction base for the £2.5 billion East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm.

The agreement was announced at the start of the Southern North Sea 2016 conference in Norwich on 02 March.

Up to £5 million is due to be co-invested in the port, allowing the facility to be ready to begin supporting construction and installation activities in 2018.

Port of Lowestoft has also been selected as the operations and maintenance base for the 30-year lifespan of the project.

-- Advertisement --

The East Anglia ONE Offshore wind farm scheme will consist of 102 turbines installed in the southern North Sea, 26 miles off the coast.

The project is planned to meet the annual electricity demands of around 500,000 homes.

Jonathan Cole, MD of Offshore Wind at ScottishPower Renewables, said: "East Anglia ONE is progressing quickly, and we are delighted that Peel Ports Great Yarmouth has been chosen to support construction and installation work on our project.

"We are committed to delivering local investment, job creation and training opportunities as part of this project, so it is pleasing that two of our earliest decisions have gone in favour of Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth.

"East Anglia ONE is the first of up to four projects we would like to build in the Southern North Sea, and we hope that our plans will continue to create jobs and investment in the region for decades to come."

(LM/JP)