LONDON, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Britain has launched a $160 billion program to make the country the world's leader in offshore wind energy.

No less than 16 European utilities were awarded licenses last week to develop wind farms off the British coastlines. Today, less than 2 gigawatts of power is generated by offshore turbines across the world -- the British program foresees an extra 32 GW to be installed, enough to power millions of homes.


"The lesson from other countries in onshore wind is that being an early mover is essential," Britain's Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband

said Friday. "That's why we are building on our status as a world-leading offshore wind generator by taking it to a whole other level today."

Companies that will build the farms include such prolific names as Eon, Statoil, Siemens, Vattenfall, Centrica and RWE. They were awarded licenses by The Crown Estate, a property portfolio owned by the British royals that is managing the offshore property for the government.

"The U.K. is a world leader in offshore wind energy and we are particularly encouraged by the cross-party support" for the energy source, Crown Estate Chief Executive Officer Roger Bright said Friday. "This will give investors confidence for the long-term future of the industry."

The British government expects 70,000 jobs to be created by the program, which is key to meet Britain's climate protection targets. London has pledged to meet 15 percent of its energy needs from renewables by 2020.

It will take some years until the turbines will actually turn, however. Companies will have to establish a connection to the national power grid. It remains to be seen whether firms will build the turbines in Britain -- the only existing facility, owned by Denmark's Vestas, closed last year. That said, a lot of the jobs created could go to turbine makers in Germany and Denmark. Regarding infrastructure, job creation should stay in Britain though.

"The scale of round three will require a dramatic increase in manufacturing capacity for offshore wind, such as turbines, foundations, offshore electrics and installation vessels," the British Wind Energy Association said in a statement.

Another major offshore wind project, the 1 GW London Array, is under construction in the Thames estuary.