The expansion of electricity generation from offshore wind represents a massive long term investment opportunity which has the potential to generate thousands of jobs in the UK as well as securing a marine renewable electricity source. Round 3 offshore wind energy generation aims to deliver a quarter of the UK’s total electricity needs by 2020.
A JV between EDP Renewables and SeaEnergy will develop the Moray Firth zone, while the Firth of Forth zone will be developed by a partnership involving SeaGreen Wind Energy equally owned by SSE Renewables and Fluor.
Forewind, formed by SSE, RWE npower renewables, Statoil and Statkraft, has been awarded development partner status for the 9GW (gigawatts) offshore wind farm proposed for Dogger Bank, 125km from the coast of Yorkshire.
Centrica has been awarded exclusive rights to develop the Irish Sea zone, which is located 15kms off the coast of Anglesey, Wales.
Siemens Project Ventures and Mainstream Renewable Power, a consortium equally owned by Mainstream Renewable Power and Siemens Project Ventures and involving Hochtief Construction, have been awarded rights to develop 4GW Hornsea Zone.
Norfolk Bank Zone will be developed by East Anglia Offshore Wind equally owned by Scottish Power Renewables and Vattenfall Vindkraft, and Hastings Zone will be developed by Eon Climate and Renewables UK.
West of Isle of Wight Zone will be developed by Eneco New Energy while Bristol Channel Zone will be developed by RWE Npower Renewables.
Gordon Brown, prime minister of the UK, said: “Our policies in support of offshore wind energy have already put us ahead of every other country in the world.
“This new round of licences provides a substantial new platform for investing in UK industrial capacity. The offshore wind industry is at the heart of the UK economy’s shift to low carbon, potentially worth GBP75bn and supporting up to 70,000 clean-energy jobs by 2020.”
