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The Government is set to approve plans for the world's first large-scale wave farm off the British coast.

It means the £28 million project known as Wave Hub has cleared the last major regulatory hurdle.

Funding for the project off Cornwall - a giant seabed electric socket - has already been approved by the South West of England Regional Development Agency (RDA).

The consent announcement will be made by John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

Wave Hub is a world first and will include an onshore substation connected to electrical equipment on the seabed about ten miles off Hayle via an under-sea cable.

Companies developing wave energy technology will be able to plug into Wave Hub to test their wave energy devices on a scale never seen anywhere before.

Four companies have already been chosen to use Wave Hub.

An independent economic impact assessment has shown that Wave Hub could create 1,800 jobs and £560 million in the UK economy over 25 years.

Wave Hub could generate enough electricity for 7,500 homes, directly saving 300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over 25 years.

This would support the South West's target for generating 15 per cent of the region's power from renewable sources by 2010.

Chairman of the RDA, Juliet Williams, said: "This announcement is a huge step forward for Wave Hub.

"It is a vote of confidence in the RDA's ability to create a groundbreaking renewable energy project in South West England that will lead the world in the development of wave energy technology."

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