Germany utility E.ON AG (EOAN.XE), Denmark's Dong Energy A/S and Norway's Fred. Olsen Renewables said Tuesday they have formed a consortium to bid in the U.K.'s Round 3 tender to develop up to 25 gigawatts of offshore wind.

The consortium has bid for exclusive rights on a number of zones in the tender, a statement from the companies said.

"Round 3 represents a challenge to both developers and the wider industry. Nothing on this scale has been done before," said Niels Bergh-Hansen, executive vice president of DONG Energy.

The consortium is competing with European energy companies and utilities, including Norway's StatoilHydro ASA (STO), Spain's Iberdrola Renovables SA (IBR.MC), Germany's RWE AG (RWE.XE) and the U.K.'s Scottish and Southern Energy PLC (SSE.LN) who have already formed partnerships to bid in the round.

"We have brought together companies with the financial ability and the experience of working on major on- and offshore wind projects, as well as working in difficult offshore conditions in the oil and gas industry, to make this a success," said Dave Rogers, E.ON's regional director for renewables.

The consortium members have been involved in over 60% of existing operational offshore wind farms around the world and are currently building five offshore wind farms with a capacity of 800 megawatts.

The three companies have worked together on renewable and offshore wind projects dating back to the 1990s and have contractual commitments extending beyond 2020.

Interest in Round 3 exceeded expectations after 96 U.K. and international companies registered following the launch of the tender last year.

The U.K.'s Crown Estate, which is conducting the licensing round, said earlier Tuesday it was encouraged with the response it had received and would issue more details March 16 following an initial assessment of all the submissions.

The Crown Estate hopes to complete awards towards the end of 2009. It has estimated that construction is likely to require investment of between GBP60 billion and GBP80 billion.

Fred. Olsen Renewables is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oslo-listed Bonheur ASA (BON.OS) and Ganger Rolf ASA (GRO.OS).

-By Selina Williams, Dow Jones Newswires +44 207 842 9262; selina.williams@dowjones.com