Biggest expansion of wind energy ever seen

The Labour Government has announced plans for the biggest expansion of wind energy ever seen.

Britain is already the world leader in offshore wind energy.  And today, the Crown Estate, owner of the UK’s coastal seabeds, has granted rights to energy companies to bring about the biggest expansion of wind energy ever seen in the world. This opens up the potential for up to 6,400 offshore wind farms,  generating 32GW – far exceeding previous plans.

Investment in UK offshore wind overall could be worth £75 billion and support up to 70,000 jobs by 2020.

While the Labour government is committed to taking an active role in creating green jobs and long-term sustainable growth, across the country Conservatives oppose new wind power proposals.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said:

“Our island has one of the best wind energy resources in Europe and today’s news shows that there’s a huge appetite for capacity to be built here. We now need to make sure we’re poised to harness the potential that appetite brings for business for UK companies and new green jobs. We did it before with oil and gas in the North Sea and we’ll do it again for offshore wind.”