By Micaela Tuckwell

Eneco says that an offshore wind farm of between 900 MW and 1200 MW of capacity could be located in the 76 square mile northern part of the awarded area by the Crown Estate last year.

In January 2010, The Crown Estate awarded Eneco a 279 square mile area of the seabed off of the Dorset and Hampshire coasts in order to research the most suitable location for an offshore wind farm.

At the closest point, the offshore wind farm will be approximately 8.2 miles (13.2 km) away from Peveril Point in Swanage. The northern boundary of the site is located 10.2 miles (16.4 km) from Bournemouth and 8.4 miles (13.5 km) south west of The Needles and the Isle of Wight coast.

Now that the location has been identified, Eneco will undertake a formal consultation process in accordance with the Planning Act of 2008 on the project as a whole.

The offshore wind farm is due to be fully operational by 2019.