Utility company E.ON has started laying the first turbine foundation for the Rampion offshore wind project in the UK.

The project is on schedule though it continues to battle severe weather conditions, which had disturbed works to prepare seabed for the 116 turbines installation.

The Rampion 400MW offshore wind project is being built 13km off the Sussex coast between Brighton and Lancing, and after completion it will become the first offshore wind farm off the south coast of England. The development is expected to supply the equivalent of up to 300,000 homes and to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 600,000 tonnes a year.

The wind farm will be equipped with 116 Vestas V112-3.45MW wind turbines of 3.45MW each.The entire project will spread across 72km², and each turbine will be installed at a minimum distance of 750m from each other and connected through inter array cables.

E.ON will invest approximately £1.3bn (€1.7bn); UK Green Investment Bank will invest £236m (€304m), while Enbridge will invest £370m (€489m) in the project.