The first of 108 3.6MW turbines has been successfully installed at the West of Duddon Sands offshore wind farm.

The development is a 50/50 joint venture between DONG Energy and ScottishPower Renewables.

Completion of the first turbine was achieved late last week in the 389MW project.

Over the coming months, a further 107 turbines will be installed by the Sea Installer and Pacific Orca. The development is expected to be fully completed by 2014.

Henrik Scheinemann, Vice President in DONG Energy's Wind Power business said: "We're very pleased to see the first turbine installed at this project, and it is a testament to the great work of the entire West of Duddon Sands teams that this first installation has gone so smoothly.

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"This project is very important for DONG Energy; it is our eighth wind farm in the UK and when completed will take us past the mark of 2.4GW of constructed capacity, well on the way to reaching out target of 6.5GW by 2020."

Charlie Jordan, ScottishPower Renewables Project Director, added: "This is another major milestone for the West of Duddon Sands project, and testament to the hard work of both ScottishPower Renewables and DONG Energy, as well as the contracting teams and suppliers working on the project. The operations at Belfast Harbour have been working well, and we are delighted with progress on the project."

The components for the wind farm are stored at the bespoke offshore wind installation and pre-assembly facility at Belfast Harbour ready to be sent out to the construction site in the East Irish Sea.

Offshore work is being carried out by two vessels: Swire Blue Ocean's Pacific Orca and the Sea Installer – owned by A2SEA. Working together, Sea Installer is currently installing the wind turbines with Pacific Orca expected to finish the foundation installation around the end of October.

(JP/CD)