A new report from RenewableUK has suggested that the UK has the second-largest offshore wind pipeline worldwide, as the global capacity of offshore wind farms exceeds the 80 GW figure.

The trade group’s EnergyPulse Insights report suggests that the UK has a 96GW capacity across 123 projects at multiple stages of development, ranging from planning to operations. China continues to take the leading position with 247GW of capacity across 437 projects, with the UK in third place with 79GW of capacity. Europe continues to have a strong wind market, with Germany and Sweden standing fourth and fifth in offshore pipelines, with 68GW and 55GW, respectively. 

Based on the study by RenewableUK, a total of 13 UK offshore wind projects are eligible to bid for this year’s Contracts for Difference (CfD) round, Allocation Round 7 (AR7). If these projects secure capacity in the auction, 7.3GW of offshore wind capacity could be added to the UK market, which has an existing 14.7GW of operational offshore wind capacity. The trade group indicates that every GW of new offshore wind capacity generates over £2 billion for the UK economy. 

RenewableUK CEO Dan McGrail explained that the latest EnergyPulse Insights report indicated that the global offshore wind industry is growing at a significant pace, as more nations look to harness the industrial, economic and environmental opportunities available with the technology. The UK remains a global leader in this movement, and the government can strengthen their position in the next few months by enhancing investment in new offshore wind capacity in this year’s auction for new projects and prioritising new measures that support the development of the UK supply chain within its upcoming Industrial Strategy.
‍

RenewableUK recently published a report encouraging the UK Government to reform the planning permission system to enable additional battery energy storage systems (BESS) co-location alongside offshore wind. The trade associate highlights that only 3MW of BESS capacity is co-located with offshore wind, highlighting that additional co-location could help reduce curtailment costs in the next few years.
‍

The report also states that global installed offshore wind capacity increased by 15% last year, increasing from 70.2GW to 80.9GW since 2024. Approximately 60% of this growth came from two markets: China, which added 6.9GW of capacity last year and the Netherlands, which contributed 1.7GW.
‍

Wind capacity will continue to increase this year as the global offshore wind pipeline continues growing. The number of nations involved in the offshore wind industry increased from 41 to 44, as Indonesia, Chile, and Malta entered the industry last year. The number of global projects in the offshore wind pipeline has also increased from 1,461 to 1,555 in the last year.

‍