A final investment decision has been made for what is claimed will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm.

The 660MW Walney Extension Offshore Wind Farm will be located in the Irish Sea, around 19km off the coast of Cumbria.

DONG Energy, which is developing the project, said decision on the final investment was made after securing all necessary consents from relevant authorities, completing site assessments and having signed the majority of the contracts for supply and installation.

Walney Extension, which is expected to be commissioned by 2018, will surpass the 630MW London Array Offshore Wind Fam.

It will generate enough electricity to power more than 460,000 homes.

Samuel Leupold, Executive Vice President at DONG Energy, said: “British offshore wind has seen phenomenal growth in recent years. A prerequisite for long term growth in the industry is that offshore wind eventually can compete on costs with other energy technologies. Building Walney Extension will bring us one step closer to that target and I’m satisfied to see that we keep bringing costs down, while continuing to expand the UK supply chain.”

He added the project will bring the company closer to realising its target of installing 6.5GW of capacity by 2020.