E.ON to Build Largest Wind Farm in UK

E.ON has submitted plans to build one of the UK's largest offshore wind farms, despite objections by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) claiming the turbines interfere with its radar.

The MoD's objections were revealed in February in an investigation by the The Times newspaper.

But the UK arm of the energy giant today announced it is to power ahead with its plans to build a £700m offshore wind farm located about 8km off the East Yorkshire coast.

E.ON, which says the MoD did not raise an objection to the plans when initially consulted about the project in 2004, is speaking to both the MoD and the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform to "find a way forward that is acceptable to all stakeholders".

If built, the 300MW Humber Gateway Offshore Wind Farm would generate enough clean, green electricity to power up to 195,000 homes, the company says.

"This scheme will displace the emission of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide every year and will make a significant contribution to helping the government meet its tough renewable energy targets," says Chief Executive of E.ON UK Dr Paul Golby.

Last week, Golby delivered the company's global future renewables agenda, aiming to increase its renewables capacity from 7,300MW to 16,000MW by 2015.

UK Business Secretary John Hutton has called for more than 33GW of offshore wind to be installed around Britain by 2020.

By Ozge Ibrahim