Firm behind offshore wind farm has pulled out - MP

The company behind an offshore wind farm off the Lancashire coast has withdrawn from the project, according to an MP.

The Morgan Offshore Wind Project would have seen 96 turbines built more than 20 miles (32km) off the Fylde coast, and, according to developers, would have produced 1500MW - enough electricity to power nearly two million homes every year.

Morgan has pulled out after failing to secure the government support, saying that in the current investment climate the project is no longer economically viable, Fylde MP Andrew Snowden MP said.

The firm has been approached for comment.

Snowden said the news threw "a very large spanner into the works of the Morgan and Morecambe cabling corridor plans" which would see cables connect to the National Grid from Starr Gate, near Blackpool Airport, through Fylde and then to Penwortham.

The proposed cabling corridor through Fylde was being jointly funded by both Morgan and Morecambe.

It is now uncertain whether the Morecambe project remains financially viable on its own, Snowden said.

He said he had contacted Karen Buckley, leader of Fylde Council, and together they would be "urgently pressing the government and the companies involved to establish what happens next and what this means for local communities".

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