Up to 7,000 new wind turbines could be built around the British coastline to provide enough energy to power every home in the UK by 2020, according to the Government, which is looking to offshore wind to help it slash carbon emissions

Much has been of Britain's unrivalled wind resources but the Secretary of State for Energy speech at a recent conference in Berlin was firmly focused on aspirations and possibilities rather than any concrete plan which would be implemented. If the vision became a reality, it would mean an average of two turbines for every mile of coastline.

It could be possible to deliver up to 60 times as much power from offshore wind as is produced at present by 2020 - an ambitious target. Next year the UK is set to overtake Denmark as Europe's biggest producer of offshore wind power.