UK’s offshore wind pipeline closes in on 100GW but power station is fired up
The latest EnergyPulse report from RenewableUK shows that the UK’s pipeline of offshore wind projects has reached 97,944 MW a rise of 7.3% on 2022. The worldwide pipeline has reached 1.23TW, an increase of nearly 400GW.
The pipeline includes projects at every stage of development, from the planning stage, right up to being fully operational.
In 2021, China overtook the UK in terms of offshore capacity and has accelerated away to the point where the country now accounts for 48% of the global capacity:
- China 157GW
- UK 98GW
- USA 82GW,
- Sweden 75MW
- Brazil 63GW
Commenting on the statistics, RenewableUK’s CEO Dan McGrail said: ‘These latest Energy Pulse figures show that both the UK and global offshore wind pipeline is continuing to grow at pace, with new projects coming forward on a massive scale.’
‘While the UK has established itself as a global leader in both fixed-bottom and floating wind, we cannot afford to be complacent. 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.’
As these figures were being released however, the UK broke a 46-day run of coal-free electricity when the Great British public responded to the hot weather by turning to their air conditioning, wind speeds fell and planned and unplanned maintenance interrupted other sources.
Greenpeace campaigner Ami McCarthy. said: ‘It is a sign of failure that the National Grid is turning to one of the most polluting forms of power generation to deal with a summer heatwave that we know has been made worse because of climate change.’
