A consortium including Germany's RWE, E.ON and Siemens was  issued permits by Britain Friday to develop offshore wind farms that will generate enough power to supply every home in the U.K.

The successful bidders, which also included Statoil of Norway and UK-based Centrica Plc were granted licenses to participate in Britain's $120 billion energy program. Scottish & Southern Energy, Iberdrola's Scottish Power and Vattenfall will proceed with development as well.

RWE of Essen has also won a contract on its own, for the Bristol Channel wind park, to create 1.5 Gigawatts. Düsseldorf-based E.ON will be responsible for a smaller project generating 0.6 Gigawatt, while Munich-based Siemens’ Mainstream Renewable Power will generate four Gigawatts.

The new farms will generate 25GW of energy, enough to power 19 million homes. This is in addition to the 8GW the U.K., the world's largest generator of wind power, already produces.

A number of potential projects in U.K. waters could bring Britain's total offshore wind capacity to more than 40GW.

Nine areas fit the licensing criteria based on water depth, wind levels and location.

The zones include sites in the Irish Sea, English Channel and various locations in Scotland. Construction could begin by 2013.

The expansion of offshore wind energy is part of a $160 billion strategy to boost renewable power and cut greenhouse gas emissions to tackle climate change.

According to the British government, offshore wind has the potential to meet more than a quarter of the country's electricity needs, provide the U.K. with up to 70,000 new jobs and generate $12 billion a year in revenue.

But it requires a major increase in manufacturing capacity, including greater production of turbines, offshore electrical systems and installation vessels.

There are fears the manufacturing base will be outsourced abroad to meet the increased demand more cheaply.

Agencies