4 top EU wind developers join forces for 25 GW project

Ireland-based Airtricity, RWE npower renewables, Norway's Statkraft and Norway's StatoilHydro said they have formed a consortium called Forewind to better their odds in securing a bid for the Crown Estate's third license round for offshore wind farms.

The Crown Estate, which owns development rights for offshore projects in the UK, announced in June that it would accept bids for up to 25 GW of new offshore windfarm sites by 2020.

The four companies say the consortium will combine the expertise and financial capacity of the companies so that they can submit one joint bid for development rights.

Airtricity's parent company is Scottish and Southern Energy. RWE npower renewables is the UK subsidiary of RWE Innogy.

In October, Airtricity, RWE Innogy, and StaoilHydro announced a new initiative with the UK government's Carbon Trust, Denmark's Dong Energy, and Scotland's ScottishPower Renewables. The £30 million initiative called the Offshore Wind Accelerator is aiming to cut the costs of offshore wind energy by 10 percent or more through a combination of wind farm cost reductions and performance improvements (see Cutting the cost of offshore wind).

Countries are considering offshore wind because it doesn't affect local landscapes. Offshore turbines are more difficult to maintain and cost more than onshore turbines but have the potential to produce more energy because of strong ocean winds. 

Denmark installed the world's first offshore wind farm in 1991. In October, U.K. overtook Denmark as the world's No. 1 country for wind farms built offshore, with 597 MW fully constructed.

At the end of 2008, Denmark and the UK accounted for about 1 GW of offshore wind, or 80 percent of Europe's market, according to the European Wind Energy Association
(see Walney wind farm gets UK approval and U.K. unveils clean energy plan). Europe's tally is predicted to hit 50 GW by 2020, the group says.