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A wind farm to be built off the Angus coast has won government approval.

Inch Cape, a £2 billion wind farm with up to 72 turbines generating enough energy to power 1.1 million homes and which will be located about 10 miles from Arbroath, has been awarded a Contract for Difference (CfD).

The project is a joint venture between Red Rock Power and ESB Energy and will create 450 jobs in the construction phase.

Inch Cape was unsuccessful in the government’s CfD auction round in 2019, but it is one of 93 successful projects awarded a contract by the government’s department for business, energy and industrial strategy.

Inch Cape project director Adam Ezzamel said: “This is an important milestone for the project, and testament to the great work of the team which has completely re-engineered the wind farm over the last two years.”

The latest auction has also delivered a further in offshore wind strike prices.

The price per MWh of offshore wind is now £37.35 per MWh, almost 70% lower than during the first CfD auction in 2015.

A number of offshore, tidal and remote island projects have also been successful.

Scottish Renewables chief executive Claire Mack said: “Scotland’s offshore wind potential was outlined by the recent ScotWind round, through which 17 projects received seabed leases.

“That new capacity, which could reach 25GW, would bring up to £24.9 billion in to the Scottish economy.

“It would also create tens of thousands of jobs.

“The benefits to Scottish communities which stem from this will be transformational.

“Projects that were recently awarded seabed leases have committed to invest in Scotland – and specifically in supply chain businesses – never seen before in any country.”

She said the investment would allow Scottish firms to compete in the global offshore wind market.

Ms Mack said it will also revitalise communities that currently rely on seasonal tourism.

If the project goes ahead, the wind farm will be situated nine miles from the closest point of land, at Ethie Mains, north of Arbroath.

It will be just about visible on the horizon.

Mr Ezzamel said previously that projects such as Inch Cape are integral to the Scottish and UK governments’ net-zero ambitions.

He added: “Our focus now moves to the contracting of key work packages and progressing towards a final investment decision by the middle of next year.”