ScottishPower Renewables has submitted plans to build a 1.2GW offshore wind farm off the coast of Suffolk, after the government yesterday announced it would continue to provide support for new projects over the course of this parliament.

The project called East Anglia THREE will spread across a 305km² area in the southern North Sea, off the coast of Suffolk in East Anglia.

It will feature up to 172 wind turbines and generate enough energy to meet the power needs of more than 850,000 homes.

The project will be considered by the Planning Inspectorate and if approved, would start construction in 2021, with first power coming in 2023.

The UK Government said that technical development has helped pare the costs of contracts for offshore wind come by at least 20% in the last two years, but it is still expensive.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd explained yesterday :

“Further support will be strictly conditional on the cost reductions we have seen already accelerating. The technology needs to move quickly to cost competitiveness.”

East Anglia THREE was proposed to be developed in a 50/50 joint venture between ScottishPower Renewables and Vattenfall.

But in August 2015, both the parties agreed to develop offshore windfarm projects independently within the “East Anglia Zone”.