Britain opened an incentive scheme on Thursday for offshore wind projects, seeking to persuade developers to provide the investment to meet an ambitious goal of decarbonising the country's energy system by 2030.

Director Garrett Morrison, from the Norwegian firm, said it hoped to capitalise on the Labour government's support for offshore wind power. In a BBC interview, he said the feeling in the renewable energy sector was that "now is the time" for offshore wind development.

UK households paid a record £1.9 billion ($2.4 billion) in subsidies to offshore wind farms last year to help bolster their bottom lines amid an expansion of the renewable energy fleet and a decline in power prices.