Centrica wins Irish wind farm rights

IRISH SEA, WALES - A decision to award rights to develop the wind energy potential off the Irish coast contributes to British energy objectives, energy companies said.

Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, announced it won a tendering process to develop wind energy in the Irish Sea.

The zone under the concession is 9 miles off the coast of Wales. Centrica said the zone has the potential to yield 4.2 gigawatts of renewable energy.

Sarwjit Sambhi, the managing director of power generation at Centrica, said exploiting wind energy is expensive, though action is needed to meet British objectives for green energy.

"The (United Kingdom) has bold carbon reduction targets and we need to take bold actions to achieve them," he said.

Centrica said the Irish Sea was its preferred location for wind energy development because of its proximity to grid connections.

The zone is located away from other wind farms planned in the region, giving Centrica a unique opportunity to exploit a different wind environment.

Development of the site is not expected until 2016, though the zone could provide enough power for more than 3 million homes.