The UK’s offshore wind market represents more than 40% of European offshore wind capacity, having grown to 93GW in 2023, a new report by The Crown Estate has found.
According to the UK Offshore Wind Report 2023, last year, a further 10GW of offshore wind was added to the market and the sector produced 49TWh of electricity – enough to power 50% of all UK homes – a record amount of generation.
In total, 43% of Europe’s offshore wind capacity is hosted in UK waters. Although the figures and growth of the UK’s offshore wind sector are positive, The Crown Estate was quick to mention that the UK could require 125GW of total capacity by 2050 to meet its net zero targets.
Gus Jaspert, managing director, marine at The Crown Estate, said: “2023 was a landmark year for the UK offshore wind sector as it generated record levels of green electricity, enough to power half of all UK homes, and continued to grow the pipeline of offshore wind farms despite challenging economic conditions.
“But the year also marked a step change across the industry in the approach needed to accelerate growth within the sector. At The Crown Estate, we’ve been working with others to put in place a host of new measures to deepen collaboration, enhance evidence and data, forward plan, resolve system issues, unlock onshore opportunities and increase pace.
“This shift in mentality and approach has laid strong foundations as we look to accelerate the growth of the sector and meet the hat-trick of priorities – nature recovery, jobs and regeneration, and achieving net zero.”
The Crown Estate set to support the scaling of offshore wind
The Crown Estate, whose role is to create long-term value for the country, is pivotal in scaling capacity by using the land and seabed it manages to help catalyse net zero.
The organisation has implemented several measures to help support the technology, whilst also enabling the development of other technologies, such as floating offshore wind.
One of the key geographic areas of development for this technology is the Celtic Sea. In October 2023, the organisation revealed its intention to raise the overall available capacity for its Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5 to 4.5GW, with this round being used to support the first developments in the Celtic Sea. It is worth noting that this originally had a capacity of 4GW but was later increased by the group.
The Crown Estate has also been supporting various organisations in streamlining renewable developments. For instance, The Crown Estate and the Electricity System Operator (ESO) have been working together to develop a Strategic Spatial Energy Plan that sets out what needs to be built, and where and when, to meet 2035 targets.
This could help decrease waiting time for grid connections, an area of the market that is increasingly under the spotlight.
The Crown Estate has also continued the development of its Whole of Seabed Programme. This is a project dedicated to digitally mapping the seabed space needed to meet future demand for a wide range of industries, infrastructure and habitats out to 2050.
