Today the Energy Secretary gave his permission for a new 504MW offshore wind farm near the Sizewell nuclear plant on the Suffolk coast.

Project developers RWE npower renewables and SSE renewables can now canter on with building the Galloper wind farm’s 140 turbines. It could generate enough electricity to power as many as 500,000 homes a year when completed in 2017.

The firms claim the project could create £18-20 million worth of investment in Suffolk and roughly 600 jobs across the country.

However SSE says it is yet to make a final decision on building the project. Jim Smith, Managing Director of Renewables at SSE said: “We very much welcome this decision which provides important reassurance about DECC’s commitment to offshore wind… Despite the strength of the Galloper project, before making a final investment decision we will apply SSE’s traditional rigour in assessing the financial viability and returns from the project.”

He said this will include looking for ways to drive down the cost of offshore wind and making sure long-term policy support is “in place and available”.

A Department of Energy and Climate Change spokesperson said: “Galloper wind farm will provide large amounts of clean energy, support jobs and generate major investment in Suffolk… This development will enhance our energy security and help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”