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The £2.65 billion Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm, Scotland’s largest and the fourth biggest in the world, will be officially opened by Prince Charles today.

The 84-turbine project eight miles off the coast of Wick can power 450,000 homes.

Claire Mack chief executive of industry body Scottish Renewables, said it was “quite simply the most exciting renewable energy development in the UK right now”.

"The scale of the Beatrice project is truly staggering: almost twice the investment of the Queensferry Crossing; the fourth largest offshore wind farm in the world, and all happening in the north east of Scotland.”

"Scotland has a quarter of Europe's offshore wind resource and Beatrice represents one of the first steps in tapping it. As our offshore wind projects continue to build out we'll see the environmental and economic benefits of offshore wind grow across Scotland, with jobs and investment transforming communities, as they already are in Wick.”

The development has been led by SSE Renewables in a joint venture with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Red Rock Power.

Onshore construction began in Moray in May 2016 and offshore construction began in April 2017.

The first wind turbine was installed and first power exported in July 2018. The final turbine was installed on 14 May 2019.