UK has around 100 gigawatts of offshore wind projects in pipeline

The UK’s pipeline of offshore wind projects at various stages of development totals 99.8 gigawatts (GW) across 130 projects, according to research published by RenewableUK on Wednesday.

The research shows that the offshore wind projects in the UK’s portfolio show an increase of 14 GW over the past 12 months.

The projects include 13.7 GW of fully operational capacity and another 13.6 GW under construction.

Globally, the number of offshore wind projects in differing stages reached 1,417 across 38 countries. With 1,174 GW of cumulative capacity, projects over the past 12 months amounted to 508 GW.

‘Fully developing that offshore wind capacity could meet 20% of global electricity demand,’ RenewableUK said.

The UK retains the second largest pipeline of projects globally, accounting for 8.5% of the world total.

In terms of global operational capacity, which is now 60 GW, China is in the lead with 28.3 GW, and the UK holds the second-largest title with 13.7 GW.

‘90% of the new offshore wind capacity that went operational in 2022 was in two markets: China (3.8GW) and the UK (3.2GW). China and the UK are expected to retain first and second place until at least 2030,’ RenewableUK said.

• ' RenewableUK
• global electricity demand