Forewind, formed by SSE, RWE npower renewables, Statoil and Statkraft, has been awarded development partner status for the 9 GW offshore wind farm proposed for Dogger Bank, 125 km from the coast of Yorkshire.

Seagreen, formed by SSE and Fluor Corporation, has been awarded development partner status for the proposed 3.4 GW offshore wind farm proposed for the Firth of Forth, 25 km from the coast of Fife.

SSE's capacity share of the two proposed Round 3 offshore wind farm developments totals around 4 GW.

Construction work on the offshore wind farms would take place in 2015 at the earliest.

SSE and RWE npower renewables are already developing the 500 MW Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm in the outer Thames Estuary and in December 2009 SSE entered into an agreement with DONG Energy to acquire a 25.1% stake in the 367 MW Walney offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea, which is expected to become operational next year.