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 more than 30 gigawatts in 2023. This results from sizeable increases in both onshore and offshore capacity, which stood at 15.7 gigawatts and 14.7 gigawatts in 2023, respectively.
Viking Wind Farm, the biggest onshore site in the UK, has a capacity of 443 megawatts and is made up of 103 turbines. Only three of the currently operational wind farms on land have a capacity exceeding 300 megawatts, whereas the leading offshore wind sites all surpassed a capacity of 500 megawatts. With a capacity of 1,320 megawatts, Hornsea 2 is the largest offshore wind farm in the United Kingdom and the world.
The country plans to continue expanding its wind power generation capacity, specially that of offshore wind. By 2030, the UK aims to reach an offshore wind capacity of 50 gigawatts, the highest offshore wind target set in Europe for that year. Overall, the UK had roughly eight gigawatts of wind under construction as of February 2025, also ranking first among European countries.
Onshore and offshore wind in the UK
Onshore plants still account for the greatest share of capacity installed, with there being more than 9,600 onshore and offshore 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 2023, wind plants at sea contributed some 50 terawatt hours to the power grid, compared with 33 terawatt hours added by onshore sites. Between 2010 and 2023, 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.Viking Wind Farm, the biggest onshore site in the UK, has a capacity of 443 megawatts and is made up of 103 turbines. Only three of the currently operational wind farms on land have a capacity exceeding 300 megawatts, whereas the leading offshore wind sites all surpassed a capacity of 500 megawatts. With a capacity of 1,320 megawatts, Hornsea 2 is the largest offshore wind farm in the United Kingdom and the world.
Growth of UK wind generation
Commercial wind farms comprising a series of wind turbines at a single site were introduced in the UK in 1991 with the Delabole wind farm's opening. From then to the present, onshore and offshore wind capacity grew dramatically. In 2023, wind power was by far the leading renewable energy source across the country. Overall, wind power is the second-largest electricity generation technology in the UK, contributing with a share of roughly one-fourth of the UK’s total power demand.The country plans to continue expanding its wind power generation capacity, specially that of offshore wind. By 2030, the UK aims to reach an offshore wind capacity of 50 gigawatts, the highest offshore wind target set in Europe for that year. Overall, the UK had roughly eight gigawatts of wind under construction as of February 2025, also ranking first among European countries.
