A Norwegian prince will be opening the �1bn Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm today (Thursday) at Holkham Hall.

Prince Haakon, son of King Harald V and heir to the throne of Norway, will be joined at the ceremony by Edward Davey, UK secretary of state for energy and climate change and Norwegian politicians Ola Borten Moe, minister for energy and petroleum, and Trond Giske, minister for trade and industry.

The wind farm has attracted much interest in Norway and has been reported in the Norwegian media.

It is owned by Norwegian energy companies Statoil and Statkraft through the joint-venture company Scira Offshore Energy, which was set up specifically to run Sheringham Shoal.

Chief executive officers of Statoil and Statkraft are also due to attend as well as Einar Str�msv�g, general manager of Scira.

The group is due to arrive in a helicopter and will be welcomed by students from Alderman Peel High School in Wells.

The school has worked closely with Scira throughout the project. Wind farm engineers have visited Alderman Peel to talk about career opportunities in the burgeoning offshore energy industry.

All 88 turbines have now been constructed at the wind farm, which is located between 10 and 13 miles north of Sheringham.

Scira Offshore Energy, which has been working from the Wells Field Study Centre building, throughout the project, say it will produce enough electricity for the needs of around 220,000 homes.

A permanent operation base for Scira is now being constructed at Egmere, four miles south of Wells.

This will be the second royal visit the project has attracted in just three months.

Prince Andrew came to Wells in July to meet Mr Str�msv�g and his team.

The Duke of York wanted to learn more about the Sheringham Shoal project and the offshore energy industry as a whole.

Statkraft's president and CEO Christian Rynning-T�nnesen said: 'The completion of Sheringham Shoal is a milestone based on Statoil's offshore experience and Statkraft's competence as Europe's largest generator of renewable energy.

'The electricity produced makes a significant contribution to the ambitious UK plan to increase the level of renewables and creates local jobs and growth opportunities.'

Mr Davey said: 'We need to get the economy moving again and a massive expansion in home grown, clean, renewable energy capacity is central to this.

'Sheringham Shoal will play an important part; supplying power to 220,000 homes, and providing jobs in the local community. Today's opening is also an illustration of the strength of the UK's strategic relationship with Norway.

'Investment in the UK's energy mix needs to come from increasingly new and diverse sources, and this project is an excellent example of that.'

For a full report of the opening, read tomorrow's EDP.