Port and energy firm team up on wind farm plans

Portland Port and a renewable energy firm have agreed to work together on plans to build a wind farm off the Devon and Dorset coast.

Norwegian firm Source Galileo, claims the PortWind project would be able to produce enough electricity for more than three million homes.

It could see 132 turbines erected about 22 km (14 miles) off the coast connected to the grid through a substation at Chickerell near Weymouth, Dorset.

Under the proposals, the wind farm's construction and operational headquarters, as well as support accommodation, could be based at Portland Port.

Source Galileo signed a non-exclusive Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Portland Port on Monday.

The privately-owned port moored the Bibby Stockholm barge for 18 months.

The controversial vessel, which was used to house hundreds of asylum seekers while their applications were processed, left Portland at the end of January.

PortWind said the wind farm project was "at an early stage of development" and proposed areas for the turbines were "subject to a future leasing round by the Crown Estate."

Dorset Council said it supported "the prospect of generating clean, green energy from our doorstep".

"We need to know more, but from what we have seen so far, the plans outlined promise to bring significant benefits in terms of Dorset's climate targets and the environment, as well as positive opportunities for Portland and the wider community.

"The creation of local jobs, possibility of international investment and the ripple effects this will have on Dorset's economy, are most exciting," it added.

In 2015 a proposed wind farm off the Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight coasts was refused consent by the government.

The £3.5bn Navitus Bay project for up to 121 turbines would have been able to generate enough power for up to 700,000 homes, its backers claimed.

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