UK’s offshore wind pipeline nears record 100GW
The UK’s offshore wind pipeline has reached almost 98GW – up from 91GW this time last year. But RenewableUK is warning policymakers not to be complacent, as China and the US forge ahead with their own renewable energy expansions.
Published 12th June 2023
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Image: Orsted. Pictured: The Hornsea One wind farm.
Industry body RenewableUK has today (12 June) published its latest data on the offshore wind pipeline, both in the UK and globally. The pipeline covers projects at every stage of development, from planned without consent, to fully operational.
The UK’s pipeline now stands at almost 98GW, up from 91.3GW this time last year.
China is the only nation with a larger offshore wind pipeline than the UK. It stands at almost 166GW.
China is also the world leader in operational offshore wind capacity, with more than 29GW operational compared to the UK’s 13.6GW. China surpassed the UK in this regard in 2021 and has added a further 5GW since the end of 2021.
With this in mind, and with the offshore wind pipeline sizes in the USA and Sweden beginning to rival the UK’s, RenewableUK’s chief executive Dan McGrail says the UK “cannot afford to be complacent”.
The USA’s offshore wind pipeline is now 82.5GW and Sweden’s is now almost 76GW. Rounding out the top six nations in terms of biggest pipelines are Brazil and Germany, with 63.4GW and 61.5GW respectively.
McGrail said: “More and more countries are fleshing out their offshore ambitions, with clear plans for future developments and industrial strategies to accompany them.
‘Recent developments such as the Inflation Reduction Act in the USA and the EU’s Green Industrial Deal have increased competition for investment. We must double down on our efforts to support and accelerate offshore wind development, and I’d encourage the Chancellor to bring forward new measures in the Autumn Budget to incentivise manufacturing investment into the UK that might otherwise go overseas.”
It was hoped that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt would present the UK’s rival to the US and EU’s subsidy packages at the Spring Statement, but he delayed the announcement to later this year.
In the meantime, industries including renewable energy generation, carbon capture and electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing have been calling for clear pledges. The US and UK last week agreed on new measures that could potentially enable British firms to access financial support under the former’s Inflation Reduction Act. The so-called ‘Atlantic Declaration’ is set to be open to carmakers.
Wind is fine, when it blows.
But it is not controllable or reliable.
Fine for energy for storage systems.
But for any amount at any time, we come back to fossil, nuclear or big hydro.
Sorry.
My experience was a lifetime with nuclear, so not entirely empty of experience!