RWE officially cutS the ribbon on its 576MW Gwynt y Mor offshore wind farm in north Wales

The project is the second largest operational offshore wind farm in the world and boosts UK offshore capacity by 14%. More than £660m of project contracts were awarded to businesses from England, Wales and Scotland.

Siemens supplied 3.6MW turbines, which sit atop monopile foundations. Two offshore substations send power to shore at St Asaph.

DECC secretary Amber Rudd said: “Gwynt y Mor has a key role to play in our long-term plan to develop a secure energy mix in this country that is diverse and home grown. There really is no better place in the world to invest in offshore wind."

RWE chief executive Peter Terium said that as one of Europe’s top three renewable energy companies, RWE currently expects to invest a total of €1bn between 2015 and 2017 in growing renewables. Wind power is at the forefront of that investment.

"It’s a challenging environment though and for RWE and its partners to be confident in realising this, we require a clear levy framework and to be reassured we are investing in line with government’s long term ambitions for renewables,” he said.

First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones said: “Local companies have been among those to benefit during construction and the site will bring high quality employment and opportunities for years to come."

He added: "With young people receiving training as part of the wind turbine apprenticeship scheme at Grwp Llandrillo Menai and the courses offered at the college’s Energy Centre in Llangefni, North Wales is the go-to place for those looking for a workforce skilled in the field of energy.”

Gwynt y Mor was built without a single lost time incident across 4m man-hours of offshore construction. “We have set some impressive benchmarks for the industry,” said project director Toby Edmonds.

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