Three government heavyweights lined up to annouce the latest mega-windfarm to be built in the UK. Gordon Brown, Lord Mandelson and Ed Miliband were all present to announce that the Crown Estate have awarded Fluor Corporation’s UK based subsidiary, Fluor Limited, and Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) the exclusive rights to develop the Round 3 offshore wind farm zone.The proposed zone in the outer Firth of Forth spans an area of 2,852 square kilometers, which is located about 22 kilometers from the East coast of Scotland. The zone has the potential to generate up to 3.4 gigawatts, which would double the total existing renewable capacity in Scotland. Seagreen Wind Energy Limited, Fluor and SSE’s consortium, will be closing interacting with The Crown Estate to carry out preliminary discussions with stakeholders. Site-specific surveys in the zone for a number of projects will be undertaken by the companies before submitting applications.Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, said that the island has great potential for wind energy development and the government is creating the right climate for companies to invest and harness the wind energy resources. Miliband stated that the news demonstrated UK’s commitment for low carbon, energy secure future.Seagreen Wind Energy Limited combines the expertise of Fluor and SSE in handling large renewable projects. The partnership between SSE and Fluor developed the 500 megawatt Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm, which is situated off the coast of Suffolk and scheduled for completion in 2012. The facility is being developed under the Round 2 of The Crown Estate wind farm development programme.Seagreen Wind Energy will begin preliminary studies such as technical feasibility and environmental assessment for the projects. Following this study, organizing for finance and supply chain commitments from vendors will be secured by the company.Fluor Corporation’s senior vice president and head of its Infrastructure Business Line, Patrick Flaherty, said, “We are extremely pleased to have reached this stage in the process and look forward to working closely with our partners in this venture - The Crown Estate, SSE and all other stakeholders - to realize the full development potential of the zone. The award provides an opportunity to utilize our engineering and technical expertise to assist the Government and our clients in reducing carbon emissions and increasing the UK’s supply of green energy.”Seagreen will now commence the environmental assessment and technical feasibility phase of the development. This will be followed by securing supply chain commitments and structuring the financing for the projects. Fluor does not anticipate booking the first project into backlog before 2015.Jim Smith, Director of Offshore Development for SSE, said, “We are delighted that The Crown Estate has awarded Fluor and SSE development rights for the Firth of Forth. This builds on the successful track record of the Fluor and SSE joint venture to develop offshore wind, and I look forward to working in partnership with The Crown Estate and Fluor to achieve the desired development potential of this award.”