page_title: Wind power in the United Kingdom
section_title: Offshore wind farms
hierarchical_section_title: Wind power in the United Kingdom / Offshore wind farms
caption_attribution_description: English: Off shore wind turbines bathed in mist and warm autumnal sunshine. The turbines are located on Burbo Bank about 4 miles offshore Français&#160;: Petite ferme éolienne en mer, au coucher de soleil automnal. Les éoliennes sont ancrées sur un banc (Burbo Bank) à environ 4 miles nautiques du littoral
context_page_description: The United Kingdom is one of the best locations for wind power in the world and is considered to be the best in Europe. Wind power contributed 20% of UK electricity generation in 2019, making up 54% of electricity generation from renewable sources. Wind power in the UK is a popular low cost generation mode which is still dropping in price and delivers a rapidly growing percentage of the electricity of the United Kingdom.
  By the beginning of August 2020, wind power production consisted of 10,911 wind turbines with a total installed capacity of over 24.0 gigawatts: 13,649 megawatts of onshore capacity and 10,415 megawatts of offshore capacity.
  This placed the United Kingdom at this time as the world's sixth largest producer of wind power. As of 2012, polling of public opinion consistently shows strong support for wind power in the UK, with nearly three quarters of the population agreeing with its use, even for people living near onshore wind turbines. The UK Government has committed to 40GW of installed offshore capacity by 2030, bringing overall UK wind capacity to over 50GW. This is greater than the UK's electricity demand of between 30-40GW in 2019.
context_section_description: The total offshore wind power capacity installed in the United Kingdom as of February 2019 is 8,483 MW, the largest in the world.
  The United Kingdom became the world leader of offshore wind power generation in October 2008 when it overtook Denmark.
  In 2013 the 175-turbine London Array wind farm, located off the Kent coast, became the largest offshore wind farm in the world; this was surpassed in 2018 by the Walney 3 Extension.
  The United Kingdom has been estimated to have over a third of Europe's total offshore wind resource, which is equivalent to three times the electricity needs of the nation at current rates of electricity consumption (In 2010 peak winter demand was 59.3 GW, in summer it drops to about 45 GW).
  One estimate calculates that wind turbines in one third of United Kingdom waters shallower than 25 metres (82 ft) would, on average, generate 40 GW; turbines in one third of the waters between 25 metres (82 ft) and 50 metres (164 ft) depth would on average generate a further 80 GW, i.e. 120 GW in total.
  An estimate of the theoretical maximum potential of the United Kingdom's offshore wind resource in all waters to 700 metres (2,300 ft) depth gives the average power as 2200 GW.
  The first developments in United Kingdom offshore wind power came about through the now discontinued Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO), leading to two wind farms, Blyth Offshore and Gunfleet sands. The NFFO was introduced as part of the Electricity Act 1989 and obliged United Kingdom electricity supply companies to secure specified amounts of electricity from non-fossil sources, which provided the initial spur for the commercial development of renewable energy in the United Kingdom.
  Offshore wind projects completed in 2010–11 had a levelised cost of electricity of £136/MWh, which fell to £131/MWh for projects completed in 2012–14 and £121/MWh for projects approved in 2012–14; the industry hopes to get the cost down to £100/MWh for projects approved in 2020.
  The construction price for offshore windfarms has fallen by almost a third since 2012 while technology improved and developers think a new generation of even larger turbines will enable yet more future cost reductions.  In 2017 the UK built 53% of the 3.15GW European offshore wind farm capacity.
caption: Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm.
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