Tradespersons who have taken electrician or plumbing training courses might benefit from the tens of thousands of employment opportunities expected to be created when a new set of windfarms are up and running.

It was recently announced by the Department of Energy and Climate Change that rights have been granted by the Crown Estate - which owns the UK's coastal seabeds - for energy companies to develop offshore windfarms in nine coastal zones.

The department predicts that some 32 gigawatts of clean electricity will be supplied from the new renewable energy stations and prime minister Gordon Brown added that employment work will also be created for thousands of professionals.

He stated: "The offshore wind industry is at the heart of the UK economy's shift to low carbon and could be worth £75 billion and support up to 70,000 jobs by 2020."

Tradespersons with approved electrical, plumbing or green energy qualifications could well be among those to benefit.

Angela Gallacher, spokesperson from The Renewable Energy Centre.co.uk, commented on the announcement, saying that wind power will be a "critical" part of Britain's future.

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