The Crown Estate has opened the latest seabed leasing round for new offshore wind projects.
It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson accelerated targets for installation, raising the bar to 40GW by 2030 in October.
Round Four will see at least 7GW brought forward by the end of the decade - capacity to power more than six million homes and “deliver a step-change in the 海角视频’s journey to Net Zero by 2050”.
Launched in early 2018, the scale, location and nature of the development has been worked up, with a concentration on four areas. Dogger Bank and Eastern Regions - include almost all of the English coast of the North Sea from Newcastle to Felixstowe, with smaller pockets in the Channel to the South East of the 海角视频 and the entire Irish Sea zone north of Wales, off the English North West coast.
Plans could also create 60,000 new jobs in supply chain and construction.
A spokesperson said: “Round Four has the potential to further strengthen the 海角视频’s world leading offshore wind sector, create jobs and investment, and deliver green, reliable, affordable energy to millions more homes.
“It’s part of our commitment to supporting the 海角视频’s low-carbon future while ensuring we maintain our healthy, biodiverse seas.
“The projects identified through this process will join a strong pipeline of 海角视频 offshore windfarms already in operation, construction and planning, and will help put the 海角视频 on track to meet the government target.”
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The Humber and North East’s appetite has already been whet, with frequent name checks as part of the green recovery, while the North West was until recently home to the world’s largest wind farm in Walney Extension. It was eclipsed by Hornsea One early last year, with Hornsea Two set to go bigger again, while the initial Dogger Bank zone brings a large group of farms together as another huge installation programme.
Mr Johnson unveiled the uplift in his Conservative Party virtual conference address, with a £160 million ports and factory fund.
"Your kettle, your washing machine, your cooker, your heating, your plug-in electric vehicle - the whole country will get their juice cleanly and without guilt from the breezes that blow around these islands," he said, underlining "progress at gale force speed".
“Far out in the deepest waters we will harvest the gusts and by upgrading infrastructure in such places as Teesside, Humber, Scotland and Wales we will increase offshore wind capacity that is already the biggest in the world.
“As Saudi Arabia is to oil, the 海角视频 is to wind. A place of almost unlimited resource, but in the case of wind, without the carbon emissions, without the damage to the environment."