Go ahead for wind and gas project

Up to 30 wind turbines will be built off the Cumbria coast

A unique dual energy scheme to be sited off the Cumbria coast has been given the go-ahead.

The Ormonde Project will involve up to 30 turbines off Walney Island, south of Barrow, generating enough energy for about 70,000 homes.

When the wind is not sufficient, power will come from conventional gas sources pumped from nearby Morecambe Bay.

The development, by Eclipse Energy, is believed to be the first in the world and is due for completion in 2010.

Managing director Ian Hatton said: "We have combined both North Sea oil and gas experience and business models to provide a commercial catalyst to enable us to harness the energy from offshore natural gas fields and wind power. This is a global first.

"We believe that wind power can play a key role by producing electricity from a clean, free, abundant and inexhaustible resource.

"We expect Ormonde to be the first of a series of similar projects where offshore wind energy is developed using the hybrid concept."