THE Government has given the green light to build a new offshore wind farm off the Barrow coast.

The turbines will be capable of powering 1.4 million homes - more than five times the number of homes in Cumbria.

Plans for six fixed offshore wind projects with the potential to generate renewable electricity for more than seven million households have been approved.

BP and EnBW secured two sites - one situated off the Northern Welsh Coast and the other located off the coast of Barrow - which both have the potential to host up to 1500 MW of wind capacity.

Once operational, this generating capacity would be sufficient to power more than 3.4 million UK households with clean electricity.

Simon Fell, MP for Barrow and Furness, has described the plans as a ‘huge opportunity’ for the community.

He said: “Once delivered this project will once again make the wind farm off our coast the largest in the world.

“This is good news for a number of reasons - it will create jobs and further cement our coast as a hub for renewable and green energy production.

“It will also allow hundreds of thousands more homes to be powered entirely by renewable energy, further removing our reliance on fossil fuels and supplies that are disrupted by conflicts like the one in Ukraine at the moment.

“This is a huge opportunity for our community and for places like Barrow Port and our supply chain businesses.”

Frank Cassidy, Barrow Borough Councillor for Walney, has also welcomed the plans for Barrow.

He said: “Off-the-scale temperatures of recent days has focused everyone's minds on the need to embrace more green energy projects and this announcement is to be welcomed.

“Labour supports clean energy and Barrow is already one of the biggest players in offshore wind. This 1500 megawatt additional project almost doubles the capacity off our coastline and it is a further boost to our Energy Coast.

“I hope to see this project bring more good quality jobs to our town and I will be speaking to the developers about making a community contribution to the area.”

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy gave the approval for the projects to enter into an Agreement for Lease with The Crown Estate.

Business and Energy Secretary the Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP said: "This month saw the price of offshore wind fall to record lows and today’s announcement will take us another step closer to increasing current levels of capacity almost five-fold by 2030.

“We are already a world leader in offshore wind and these new sites will help secure more clean, affordable, homegrown power for millions of households across the country, while reducing their reliance on costly fossil fuels.”

BP chief executive Bernard Looney said: “Success in this round marks BP's entry into one of the world’s best offshore wind markets. This is both important progress towards BP's transformation into an integrated energy company as well as a significant next step in our long history in the UK.

“These projects – in which we are teaming up with an experienced partner EnBW – are absolutely in line with our determination to invest with discipline into only the very best opportunities.

“Offshore wind is integral to delivering the UK’s green industrial revolution."

Chief executive of EnBW Frank Mastiaux added: "We will once again contribute significantly to a climate-friendly energy future in the UK, which is currently the world’s largest market for offshore wind power.”