Wind farms proposed off Barrow in Irish Sea

The Morgan Offshore Wind Project and the Morecambe Offshore Windfarm are two new proposed wind farms that together would generate almost two gigawatts (GW) of energy.

Public consultation on the plans runs up until June 4 as further details of the designs have been released.

Morgan Offshore Wind Project will be located in the Irish Sea, approximately 36km from the north west coast of England and 22km from the Isle of Man.

It is a joint venture between BP and Energie Baden Württemberg AG (EnBW), and the latest plans indicate that the project will include up to 107 wind turbine generators and up to four offshore substation platforms (OSPs), as well as inter-connector cables and inter-array cables.

Joint venture partners Cobra and Flotation Energy (who have now formed Morecambe Offshore Windfarm Ltd.) were selected together as the preferred bidder for a separate seabed lease in a different area of the Irish Sea, on the site that will become the Morecambe Offshore Windfarm.

READ MORE: Plans progress on new wind farm project off Barrow coast

This would be smaller in scale, with up to 40 turbines, with the capacity to power over 500,000 homes, and would be situated further to the east – at its nearest point being around 30km from the Lancashire coast.

Where the proposed wind farms will be situated (Image: Morecambe and Morgan)

The projects are part of The Crown Estate's selection of six offshore sites to deliver eight GW of energy, part of the UK’s government’s target is to deliver up to 50 GW of offshore energy by 2030, when the new farms are expected to become operational.

The leases are in an area that boasts strong wind resources and shallow water depths.

Together, they cover an area of around 900 square kilometres of the seabed and will have a lifespan of up to 60 years.

The Morgan Offshore Wind Project website states the further benefits to the regional economies that the scheme would bring.

It says: "We know that offshore wind projects bring significant benefits to their local communities and we think it's incredibly important the local supply chain contributes to this project too.

"We are engaging with ports and harbours around the Irish Sea that could support construction activities and then eventually operations and maintenance for the wind farms."

For more information, and to have your say, visit morecambeandmorgan.com.

Mona Offshore Wind Project is another offshore wind farm being developed by bp and EnBw in the Irish sea, off the coast of North Wales.