A power company has submitted a £1.4bn application to build up to 125 wind turbines off the east coast of Scotland.

Mainstream Renewable Power is seeking consent from Marine Scotland to build the wind farm around nine miles off the Fife coast.

It says the facility would be ready by 2016 and could generate 450MW of electricity, enough to power 325,000 homes.

The offshore project, called Neart na Gaoithe (meaning "strength of the wind" in Gaelic), would occupy an area of around 65 sq miles and will be open to consultation until September 10.

The development would create hundreds of direct and indirect jobs during its construction and operation, the power company said.

Mainstream Renewable Power has renewable energy sites in seven countries and is developing projects in England and Germany.

Andy Kinsella, the firm's chief executive of offshore business, said: "This is a major milestone in the delivery of this offshore windfarm.

"With over 7,500MW of offshore windfarms in development in the UK and Germany, this demonstrates Mainstream's ability in selecting the best sites, developing to a high standard and delivering to challenging milestones.

"This project is of strategic importance to Scotland; not only will it supply a significant percentage of the country's electricity demand, it will also help to deliver Scotland's and the UK's renewable energy targets in advance of 2020."

The company said the exact number of turbines at the development would depend on which model is selected and numbers will range between 64 and 125. It would account for 3.7% of Scotland's total electricity demand when fully operational.

The site is one of six highlighted as suitable for development by the Scottish Government's strategic environmental assessment.

Mainstream Renewable Power has secured a power grid connection and have an Agreement for Lease with The Crown Estate.

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