PLANS for a £100 million wind farm four-and-a-half miles off Walney have been unveiled in Barrow, writes Furness Reporter Zoe Casson.

Warwick Energy is planning to build a cluster of 30 wind turbines off the coast of Walney in 2004, which could create jobs for manufacturing firms in Barrow.

The only hurdle the company has to overcome is getting permission from the Department of Transport and Industry to build the turbines, which will be 121-metres above sea level - about three times the height of Barrow Town Hall.

The company held a public exhibition at Forum 28 in Barrow to gauge the opinions and feelings from local people about the development.

If built, the turbines will supply 87,000 homes with electricity - more than the whole population of Barrow.

The Walney site is just one of eight wind farms Warwick Energy hopes to build in the eastern and Irish Sea.

If given the go ahead, the wind farm would be operational by 2005.

Executive director of Warwick Energy Mark Petterson opened the exhibition.

He said: "The last year we have spent doing studies into the wind farm off Walney and we are now in the final stages.

We have held this exhibition to hear the thoughts and comments from members of the public."

Director of RSK Environment Limited David Taylor, who is involved with the project, said: " People will not be able to hear anything from the wind farm as they will be too far out.

"Building them will create jobs and there is no reason why it shouldn't be businesses in Barrow who get the contracts, but I don't know how many.

It won't create a large amount of jobs but there will be some.

We will also need to find a contractor to take care of the maintenance for the 20-year life span of the turbines, which could also be a group from the local area."

The first offshore wind farm to be built in Britain became operational in Northumberland last year.

The increase in the number of plans for offshore wind farms has risen rapidly after the Government stated that 10 per cent of electricity should be supplied by renewable energy, such as wind farms, by 2010.