The Isle of Man government has named DONG Energy as its preferred partner for a new offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea.

The proposed site of the 700MW wind farm is off the east coast of the island, within its 12-mile territorial limit.

The Isle of Man government estimates that leasing parts of the sea-bed for renewable-energy generation will boost its public funds by at least £5 million a year and create more than 50 local jobs.

Brent Cheshire, DONG Energy UK’s chairman, said: “We welcome the announcement that we are the preferred bidder for this project, which is an exciting and substantial opportunity in an area we know well. This is a positive step towards strengthening our offshore-wind pipeline beyond 2020, and we look forward to further exploring this opportunity.”

Phil Gawne, Minister for the Isle of Man’s Department of Infrastructure, said: “DONG Energy is the global market leader in offshore wind farms and — with the recent commission of the West of Duddon Sands development — now operates seven UK offshore wind-farm projects. It was successfully selected based on a technical and economic assessment.”