Offshore wind farm plan for Yorkshire

The Hornsea zone wind farm site will be developed by Siemens Project Ventures and Mainstream Renewable Power, a consortium equally owned by Mainstream Renewable Power and Siemens Project Ventures and involving Hochtief Construction and will have a potential energy output of 4GW.

The Crown Estate confirmed the winners of round three of leasing UK waters for wind farms, which could provide enough energy to power the equivalent of 19 million homes.

The wind farms could potentially pave the way for a massive expansion in renewable energy around the UK's shores.

The expansion of offshore wind is part of a 100 billion strategy to boost renewable power and according to the Government has the potential to meet more than a quarter of the UK's electricity needs.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Friday's announcement would make a "significant and practical contribution" to cutting the UK's carbon emissions and create tens of thousands of jobs.

The companies awarded the rights to develop offshore wind in nine different areas include major energy companies such as E.ON, RWE Npower, Scottish Power and Centrica.

A well as Hornsea the nine zones include sites in the Bristol Channel, Irish Sea, the Moray Firth and the Firth of Forth, off the coast of Norfolk, and construction could begin by 2013-2015.