A pair of major Japanese energy firms will help finance a giant offshore wind farm after agreeing to pay almost £1bn for a major stake in Innogy’s Triton Knoll project.

The German renewables firm behind the £2bn wind farm off the coast of Lincolnshire said it would sell 41pc of the project to Japan’s Electric Power Development, known as J-Power, and Kansai Electric Power.

The pair will take 25pc and 16pc of the project respectively in the first major move by Japanese energy companies into the UK’s booming wind power market.

The Triton Knoll project was awarded a contract from the UK Government to guarantee its developers a revenue stream of £74.75 per megawatt-hour of electricity produced.

Offshore construction is expected to start at the end of next year. By the beginning of 2021 the wind farm will be able to generate enough clean energy to power 800,000 homes.