Gwynt y Mor exports first power

UK: The Gwynt y Mor wind Farm off the UK's north west coast has officially generated and exported its first electricity.

The first turbine to have generated power at the massive offshore site

This latest progress means that the project is on schedule to become fully operational in 2014, making it likely to be the world's second largest offshore wind farm after the UK's London Array.

The 576MW project, using 160 Siemens 3.6MW turbines, is jointly financed by RWE Innogy, Stadtwerke München and Siemens.

Clark MacFarlane, Siemens managing director of UK offshore, said: "This is a very important milestone for one of Europe's largest wind farms. The industry is continuing to develop as this and other major offshore developments come to fruition.

"This is a key project for us and we are delighted to have played a part in helping this major wind farm achieve first power."

Installation of the turbines began in May, with all the monopiles in place earlier this month.