ScottishPower's renewable energy business received a further boost today (Thursday) with the announcement by the Crown Estate that it has been given permission to explore the feasibility of a large wind generation project in the Irish Sea off the Blackpool coast.

The company will share the investment with its development partner, the Japanese trading company, Tomen Power Corporation, with whom it jointly operates the P and L windfarm in mid Wales, one of the UK's largest.

ScottishPower will now begin extensive tests on its 10 sq km site at Shell Flat with a view to constructing a 30-turbine windfarm capable of generating more than 60 megawatts of electricity – enough to for 40,000 homes – in 2004.

Shell Renewables and the Danish utility Elsam, who today were also given permission for potential windfarms in the Shell Flat area, have agreed to share the initial site investigation and development activities with the ScottishPower and Tomen joint venture, CeltPower.

The Crown Estate has allowed the selected developers the right to exercise a 20-year lease on their sites.

The project is a further boost to ScottishPower's growing renewable energy business, which operates 10 windfarms throughout the UK and southern Ireland with a total output of around 100 MW and representing an investment of £100 million.

In addition to the Shell Flat project – ScottishPower's first offshore windfarm – the company is also planning to build more onshore windfarms as part of a commitment to increasing its generation from renewable sources to 500 Megawatts.

Ken Vowles, ScottishPower Executive Director, UK Power Operations, said the company was delighted to be in the vanguard of a new renewables technology.

"We are among the leading renewable energy providers in the UK and we intend to continue this success into offshore generation, which will help grow our business and assist us in achieving 10 per cent of our generation from renewable sources over the next ten years", he added.

Initials tests by ScottishPower have shown the Shell Flat site to have excellent wind conditions for generation purposes. Detailed evaluation of geological and weather conditions and extensive consultations with the local community will be carried out as part of the application for planning consent to the Department of Trade and Industry. A full environmental assessment will also be undertaken.

The new turbines will be around four miles from the coast and to exploit the wind – and cope with the sea conditions – will be around 120 m high with blades 80m in diameter – nearly twice the width of an onshore windfarm.

The project has been welcomed in the region. Lord Terry Thomas, Chairman of the North West Development Agency, said : "We are delighted to hear of the plans to establish a wind farm off the coast of Lancashire, as this mirrors the objectives set out in the Regional Strategy to develop alternative energy sources. The Agency is particularly impressed with the plans from ScottishPower to build a large offshore wind farm that has the ability to generate a vast quantity of energy, approximately a third of the NW target for offshore wind energy output."

Further information:

ScottishPower Press Office
Gordon Laidlaw
Colin McSeveny                                                                  0141 248 8200