A shortlist of the firms competing to own and operate transmission links with some of Britain's first offshore wind farms has been published.

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The shortlist is the first phase of a £15 billion programme to ensure links to offshore wind farms, which will connect up to 2,000 megawatts of renewable electricity, are built on time and cost effectively for consumers and generators.

The UK has legally binding targets to obtain 15 per cent of the nation's energy needs from renewable sources by 2020, reports the Financial Times, the majority of this will come from wind power, representing a ten-fold increase on current levels from 0.6GW to 33GW.

It has been estimated that the new transmission links could generate the necessary 33GW by 2020.

Ofgem's chief executive Alistair Buchanan said: "The strong competition for the first round of transmission links demonstrates the value of attracting new entrants and shows that firms have confidence in the tendering process and are willing to make a substantial investment."

The winning bidders will be announced in May 2010.