As the Government increases its efforts to curb carbon emissions from the power generation sector, Costain is aiming to win a stake in the renewable energy market.

Offshore windfarms offer the prospect of more predictable and consistent weather conditions than their onshore counterparts, together with fewer problems in gaining planning permission. However, constructing them in an offshore environment is more technically challenging.

Costain has teamed up with Hochtief and Arup in a new alliance. This will seek to design and build the offshore installations that are anticipated to spring up over the next decade.

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These installations will, in a large proportion of the zones, require large concrete structures, known as gravity base foundations, sitting on the seabed and into which the wind turbines can be attached. This is where Costain comes in, explains the Director in charge of the Group's efforts in the sector, Colin Duff.

Bidding concluded this year between various developers and energy providers and the Crown Estates (which owns the rights to the seabed around the UK) for 'Round 3' of the licences that will allow companies access to the seabed to install the wind turbines.

"If everybody develops the sites they say they're going to - and that depends on how far they take Round 3, what happens to other forms of energy and our use of energy - the offshore market could be worth £200billion by 2020. The foundation element of that is £50billion," said Duff.

(CD/GK)