Isle of Man residents consulted on wind farm plans

Celtic Array said the development could power about 1.5 million homes with low carbon electricity

A two month public consultation has begun on plans to build a giant offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea.

Celtic Array, a joint venture between Centrica and Danish company Dong Energy, plans to build between 150 and 450 turbines by the end of the decade.

The Rhiannon wind farm would be situated about 12 miles (19km) north-east of Anglesey and about 21 miles (34km) from the Isle of Man.

A company spokesman said the public consultation will run until 19 May.

The Rhiannon wind farm is one of a dozen sites around the UK where offshore wind farms could be built in the next 10 years.

First announced in January 2010, the project could generate up to 2.2 GW of electricity, or enough to meet the needs of around 1.7 million homes.

Two years of assessment have already been completed to establish the physical, environmental and engineering constraints of building out in the Irish Sea.

If the planning inspectorate gives permission, construction could start as early as 2017.

Among the proposals are a new overhead power connection across Anglesey and the Menai Strait, maximising use of existing network on the mainland, and replacing three underground cables in the Glaslyn estuary with 12.