A MAJOR offshore wind farm, which will power about 40,000 North-East homes, has moved a step closer to completion after the final turbine was installed.

Engineers have now erected all 27 turbines, complete with huge rotor blades, on the Teesside wind farm, off the coast of Redcar, with eight already supplying electricity to the National Grid.

The remaining turbines on the farm, being built 1.5km off Redcar's coast by energy supplier, EDF Energy Renewables, will be turned on throughout the summer, after further technical work and tests have been carried out.

When fully operational, the wind farm will generate about 62 megawatts of electricity, with each turbine's 2.3 megawatt capacity flowing through seabed cables to a substation in Warrenby, near Redcar, and into the grid at a connection in nearby Lackenby.

The scheme has supported scores of North-East jobs, including posts at MPI Offshore, based in Stokesley, North-Yorkshire, who transported, lifted and installed parts on the wind farm from its 138 metre, six-leg jack vessel, MPI Adventure, operating out of the Port of Hartlepool.

The work also saw Stokesley-based Marske Site Services contracted to drop 7,000 tonnes of rock from Sherburn, in County Durham, next to the turbine foundations to stop seabed erosion.

Christian Egal, EDF Energy Renewables chief executive, previously told The Northern Echo he was excited about the wind farm's potential.

He said: “As our first offshore scheme, we are delighted the new wind farm continues to make progress and will soon be producing electricity that will make an important contribution to the country’s renewable energy targets.

“Developing a range of diverse energy sources is crucial to addressing climate change, securing supplies and providing affordable energy.

“We are committed to maintaining energy supplies and affordable prices, and the Teesside wind farm will make a significant contribution to these objectives.”

EDF has 21 operational onshore wind farms, contributing 300 megawatts of low carbon electricity in the UK.

Including the Teesside scheme, a further 224 megawatts of additional capacity is under construction.