The Government has given planning permission for the construction of what will be the world’s largest wind farm.

The array of up to 400 turbines 80 miles off the Yorkshire coast on the Dogger Bank will be more than twice the size of the UK’s current biggest offshore wind farm. It is expected to cost £6-8 billion and could meet 2.5% of the UK’s electricity needs.

Covering about 430 square miles, the Dogger Bank Creyke Beck project will generate enough electricity to power nearly 2 million homes, and could create about 900 jobs in Yorkshire and Humberside, according to Energy Secretary Ed Davey.

He said: “Making the most of Britain’s home-grown energy is creating jobs and businesses in the UK, getting the best deal for consumers and reducing our reliance on foreign imports. Wind power is vital to this plan, with £14.5 billion invested since 2010 in an industry that supports 35,400 jobs.”

Nick Medic, director of offshore renewables at Renewable UK, said: “This is an awesome project; it will surely be considered as one of the most significant infrastructure projects ever undertaken by the wind-power industry.

Dogger Bank demonstrates the sheer potential of offshore technology to turn our vast ocean and wind resources into green energy. It is a project that pushes the offshore engineering envelope, demonstrating how far this technology has evolved in the 10 short years since the first major offshore wind farm was installed in North Hoyle, just five miles from shore.”

However, construction of the first turbines could still be some years off. The Forewind consortium, which is behind the 2,400MW-capacity project, has yet to make a final investment decision. The consortium comprises Scottish & Southern Energy, Germany’s RWE and Norway’s Statoil and Statkraft (respectively Norway’s state-owned oil business and its state-owned electricity company).