Huge new windfarms are to be built around the UK in a £100bn scheme

Offshore wind is vital to Britain reaching its climate change targets

The new plans are for offshore wind farms to be built around the UK on nine different locations, totalling about 6,400 new wind turbines.

These offshore wind farms will be unlike anything the UK has seen before. The largest of the new farms will consist of 1,800 turbines, each of them standing over 500ft tall.

When completed, it is predicted that the 6,400 turbines will together generate over 32gw of power. 20gw is said to be enough to power every home in Britain.

Among the companies announced as successful bidders for the wind farm sites are E.ON, RWE Npower, Scottish Power and Centrica.

Britain’s liking for wind power is due to a commitment to hit carbon reduction targets. The government has pledged that 15% of all energy used, on fuel, transport and electricity, will come from renewable sources such as wind.

Energy customers are going to see their bills get more expensive, in aid of funding this massive scheme.

Critics have raised all sorts of questions, from concerns that the energy generation predictions are not realistic, the cost of the plan to the average household, and even logistical concerns such as whether there are enough qualified engineers to build the turbines in time.

We will post updates on the progress of the scheme in future.