Today, the UK reached a milestone 30GW of installed wind capacity (onshore and offshore combined). This capacity is enough to power over 26 million homes and can supply over a quarter of the UK’s annual electricity demand. Wind energy is now the largest technology generating electricity source in the UK, overtaking gas and accounting for 28% of overall supply. This has been driven in part due to significant cost reductions witnessed across both onshore and offshore wind over the past decade. In 2023, offshore wind produced a record 17% of the UK’s electricity, with onshore wind at 11%.
Offshore wind has emerged as a remarkable success story in the UK as a means to generate low-carbon electricity. The UK has proven itself as a world leader in the development of the industry, by successfully delivering large-scale commercial projects while reducing consumer costs. Technology development and innovation has contributed to offshore wind becoming one of the cheapest sources of power from an originally nascent and expensive technology. Industry focus has centered around offshore wind deployment in recent years with more capacity being installed per year than onshore wind (Figure 1).
Figure 1: UK Installed Wind.
Looking ahead, wind power is going to play a central role in the UK’s decarbonisation and energy security ambitions. The newly elected Labour Government has ambitions of reaching 60GW of offshore wind by 2030, up from 50GW previously which included 5GW of floating wind. Achieving these targets are central to the UK’s progress on delivering Net Zero by 2050, and to maintain its position as a global leader in offshore wind. Floating wind will play a crucial role in meeting longer-term targets, and the UK is well placed with experience in fixed-bottom wind and an expansive project pipeline to drive the technology from its current early-stage development to commercialisation.
Central to achieving these targets and sustaining the growth of the UK offshore wind industry is an understanding of the key enabling actions required to facilitate deployment at the rate and scale necessary. Critical factors such as port and grid infrastructure will require significant investment and rapid action to alleviate constraints on deployment, while expansion of local supply chains and the growth of a skilled workforce are needed to maximise benefits to the UK economy. A continued focus on technology development and innovation will play a major role in accelerating deployment and driving down costs for consumers.
Additionally, future Contracts for Difference auctions in the years to 2030 will be critical. The results of the latest CfD auction Allocation Round 6 will be published early next month. Following the failure of AR5 and the uplifting of auction pot sizes/budgets, sufficient capacity must be awarded in AR6 to alleviate pressure on future rounds and ensure enough projects have a route to market to deliver 2030 targets.
These actions are intended to align with the Industrial Growth Plan for offshore wind, which seeks to unite government, industry, and other key stakeholders around a shared vision in creating and maintaining a sustainable offshore wind industry. This vision aims to leverage the existing strengths of the UK industry and broader economy to advance the offshore wind sector on the path to Net Zero.
The industry should take pride in reaching this historic 30GW milestone and reflect on the remarkable growth of wind power in the UK since the turn of the century. As we look ahead, this achievement should serve as a catalyst to accelerate the UK’s ambitions, overcome challenges, rapidly scale up deployment, and unlock the economic benefits on offer. Our focus should now shift to the future in ensuring that we elevate wind power to the next level.