The U.K.'s Crown Estate said it was offering interested parties the opportunity to apply for area extensions on Round One and Round Two offshore wind projects in a bid to quickly increase the U.K's renewable power generation capacity and maintain a steady flow of offshore construction activity.

The Crown Estate, which owns the seabed and parts of the foreshore around the U.K.'s coastline, said the extensions are intended to provide the U.K. with extra wind power generation capacity within a short period of time and ensure a stable flow of construction projects until Round Three construction activity kicks-in.

The Crown Estate in March received multiple bids for each of the nine zones offered in the Round Three offshore wind licensing to develop up to 25 gigawatts of wind power.

Round One, launched in 2000, now has seven offshore wind farms in full operation and four that are currently under construction. A competitive tender process for Round Two sites was launched in 2003. The 15 successful projects amount to 7.2 gigawatts.

The area extensions proposed Tuesday dovetail with the estate's July decision to extend both Round One and Round Two leases to 50 years.

Project developers that have Round One or Two projects in operation or under construction, consented and awaiting construction or currently awaiting determination of statutory consents, will be allowed to apply for area extensions. Interested parties must notify the Crown Estate of their interest by the end of Sept. 9, 2009, the Crown Estate said.

Project developers that might be eligible for extensions would include Scottish and Southern Energy PLC's (SSE.LN) Airtricity, which developed the 500-megawatt Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm with engineering company Fluor Corp (FLR) during the second round of licensing.

Rob Hastings, director of marine estates at Crown Estate said: "Site extensions for Round One and Two provide a unique opportunity to build on the strengths of the U.K. offshore wind industry. In the years leading up to construction of the larger Round Three projects, the extension of existing sites will provide the offshore wind supply chain with further confidence in a pipeline of construction projects.

-By Alex MacDonald, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9328; alex.macdonald@dowjones.com