The offshore wind farms are expected to provide about a third of the country’s energy by 2020. The construction of the wind farms will require an investment of approximately GBP100bn.
Reportedly, the bidders including big six energy suppliers of the UK and other European utilities have already been informed, but have been asked not to give any details until the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown makes the official announcements.
The project will focus on nine offshore zones put up for auction by the Crown Estate, owner of the UK’s territorial seabed. The biggest site will be at the Dogger Bank zone, located about 100km off the east coast.
A consortium including Southern Energy, Statoil, RWE and Statkraft are believed to have bagged the Dogger Bank zone. Scottish Power and Vattenfall are thought to have won the rights for a 5GW parcel off the Norfolk coast. E.ON and Centrica are also said to have won parcels. Sea Energy and its partner EDP are believed to have been awarded a site in the Moray Firth in Scotland.
