North Sea areas opened to more wind farms

A stretch of sea off the coast of Suffolk and Norfolk is being offered as a designated development zone for wind turbines.

Companies have been invited by the Crown Estate to bid for the right to set up wind turbines in nine areas around the UK as the government seeks to quadruple the amount of wind power generated.

This will be the third round of offshore wind farm leasing, and is for projects that will deliver up to 25GW of new offshore wind power by 2020.

A total of 96 UK and international companies have registered their interest in the bidding.

Business secretary John Hutton said: "The launch of The Crown Estate bidding competition is a huge opportunity for investors and developers to play a part in the renewables revolution sweeping the UK. Offshore wind could dramatically increase the amount of electricity generated in this country from clean, green sources."

Scroby Sands, a wind farm built as part of the first round of development, has been operating three years, generating electricity for 39,000 homes.