LONDON, May 24 (UPI) -- The British government announced Friday it gave consent to the construction of a 504-megawatt wind farm planned for the coast of Suffolk.
The British Department of Energy and Climate Change granted permission to Galloper Wind Farm Ltd. to build a 140-turbine development in Suffolk. The department estimates that as many as 500,000 households will get energy from the wind farm when it's completed in 2017.
The DECC emphasized that offshore wind is a vital part to the country's efforts to balance its energy sector against oil and natural gas.
The British government this year said it was giving offshore wind energy $3.4 million to drive down costs.
The government said wind energy would help advance a low-carbon economy, adding support for innovation would help the country cut the costs of offshore wind 25 percent by 2020. The DECC said the Galloper wind farm would generate about $28 million in investments in Suffolk.
The British government is committed to a goal of having 30 percent of the country's electricity generated by renewable resources by 2020.
