NOT only has the region managed to make up ground in fighting its corner for a slice of the low carbon future, it could become a world-leading player in the development of the next generation of offshore wind farms.

Mark Knowles believes that round three schemes could be followed by round four sites that would push technological boundaries – and Merseyside could seize a major stake in taking the industry forward.

He said the depth to the seabed currently decides wind farm zones.

“The deepest is 72 metres, but after that there could be floating devices,” he added.

He said the offshore wind farm industry is likely to follow the oil and gas industry, which moved from seabed anchored rigs to floating platforms to extend the boundaries of developments farther from shore.

And, given the region’s growing status in the industry and its bid to participate in Centrica’s round three scheme near the Isle of Man, it could position itself as a world leader in supporting and developing such schemes.

He said: “We will have a level of expertise that no one else does. This is market-leading technology, because no-one has gone so deep before.”

Outlining possible areas of development, Mark Basnett said: “In 10 or 15 years, are there going to be more efficient turbines to generate more power?

“As a base port, we can service and support that.

“The UK is going to be leading the market in offshore, so companies here can serve the rest of the world or Europe.

“This is a real opportunity for UK plc to develop expertise to serve the industry. We can service the world from Liverpool.

“The prize is to use the fact that we are the centre of this industry for the next 10 years, to really embed the capabilities to service the wider UK, Europe and beyond.”

And he said that could also involve a support network to encourage leading European practitioners in the industry to set up a Merseyside base.