ScottishPower Renewables has granted final approval for a £2.5 billion offshore wind farm in the North Sea.

The East Anglia ONE scheme is set to become one of the largest offshore wind farm sites in the world.

The project will see 102 wind turbines generating 714 megawatts of electricity, enough to power the equivalent of 500,000 homes.

As well as creating up to 3,000 construction jobs, the project includes substantial investment in the East Anglia region, including a £25 million deal with the Port of Lowestoft to be the home of the wind farm for 30-plus years, during construction and operation phases.

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Construction is due to begin in 2017, with the first turbines installed by 2019.

Charlie Jordan, ScottishPower Renewables East Anglia ONE project director, said: "East Anglia ONE will deliver substantial environmental benefits for the UK, it will stimulate considerable UK investment, and it will support thousands of jobs.

"Offshore wind has proven itself as a technology that works, and the more offshore wind capacity we have in the UK, the more secure our energy supplies will be.

"East Anglia has some of the best conditions anywhere in the world for the development of offshore wind, and we are fully committed to the region, with future developments already in the pipeline.

"ScottishPower Renewables is leading the way with its approach of actively working towards a target of at least 50% UK supply chain content over the lifetime of the East Anglia ONE project."

East Anglia ONE is the first of four windfarms ScottishPower Renewables is planning to build off the East coast.

The project is due to be fully operational during 2020.

(LM)