Wind energy industry in the UK - statistics & facts
Wind power has become one of the most important energy sources to consumers and industries in the United Kingdom. With coal being slowly phased out of the country's power mix, efforts to increase renewable shares brought the cumulative capacity of wind power to a total of 28.8 gigawatts in 2022. This results from sizeable increases in both onshore and offshore capacity, which are close to 15 gigawatts and 14 gigawatts, respectively.
Clyde Wind Farm, the biggest onshore site in the UK, has a capacity of 350 megawatts and is made up of 152 turbines. Only two of the currently operational wind farms on land have a capacity exceeding 300 megawatts, whereas this number was over a dozen for offshore sites. With a capacity of 1,300 megawatts, Hornsea 2 is the largest offshore wind farm in the United Kingdom and the world.
Onshore and offshore wind in the UK
Onshore plants still account for the greatest share of capacity installed, there being nearly 1,500 wind farms spread across the country. However, despite the difference in offshore capacity being slightly lower, offshore turbines generated a significantly higher amount of energy. In 2020, wind plants at sea contributed some 45 terawatt hours to the power grid, compared with 35 thousand gigawatt hours added by onshore sites. Between 2010 and 2022, the load factor for offshore turbines ranged from 30.5 to 45.7 percent, whilst turbines situated on land had a load factor ranging from 21.8 to 41.5 percent in the same time frame.Clyde Wind Farm, the biggest onshore site in the UK, has a capacity of 350 megawatts and is made up of 152 turbines. Only two of the currently operational wind farms on land have a capacity exceeding 300 megawatts, whereas this number was over a dozen for offshore sites. With a capacity of 1,300 megawatts, Hornsea 2 is the largest offshore wind farm in the United Kingdom and the world.
