Plans to increase the number of off-shore wind farms around the coast of the UK have been announced as part of the government's drive to increase the UK's production of renewable energy.

The announcement to create 18 sites by the Crown Estate, which owns the seabed on which the wind farms will be built, means that developers can now begin preparations for seeking the statutory consent required for offshore wind farm developments.

If all of these sites were to go ahead, the power generated would be between 1000 and 1500 MW, enough to power over one million households.

Frank Parrish, head of marine estates at Crown Estate, called the announcement a "terrific start" and said there had been close cooperation between Crown Estate, the Department of Trade and Industry and the members of the British Wind Energy Association.

He added: "Our role at the Crown Estate has been a small but significant part of getting this important new industry on its feet."

The Crown Estate's marine holdings include 1,700 miles of foreshore and almost all of the seabed out to the 12 nautical mile territorial limit around the United Kingdom.

The move follows a speech Tony Blair on March 6 in which he pledged £100 million towards renewable energy saying the investment would "reap a long-term reward".

Speaking to the BBC, energy minister Peter Hain said "Nuclear had its heyday in the 1950s, '60s and '70s" and argued that the public is now looking to alternative forms of energy.

A BNFL spokesman told ePolitix that nuclear power would still "play a vital role in any balanced energy mix" and that carbon-dioxide free nuclear power was "crucial" in helping the UK meet its Kyoto Agreement targets.