Npower sees Welsh offshore wind farm start this week

LONDON, July 8 (Reuters) - Npower Renewables expects to start producing the first electricity from its 90-megawatt Rhyl Flats offshore wind farm in north Wales this week, a company executive said on Wednesday.

"The first generation is due this week from Rhyl Flats," Kevin McCullogh, the chief operating officer of the renewables arm of Germany's RWE (RWEG.DE) told the Renewables 2009 conference in London.

A spokeswoman for the company said the first of the 25 turbines that make up the wind farm was expected to export electricity to the UK grid in the next few days, weather permitting, with full commercial operations on track to begin in the fourth quarter.

(Reporting by Daniel Fineren)