Offshore wind farms in UK waters generated enough energy to power 41% of (11.5m) homes last year, The Crown Estate has said. Publishing its latest report, the authority, which is owned by the monarchy, said 2022 was a record year for UK offshore wind, generating 45TWh (terrawatt hour) of electricity last year, up from 37TWh in 2021 and a sixfold increase over the past 10 years.
The Crown Estate estimates this to rise to 47% of UK homes by the end of 2023. The new record was achieved despite 2022 wind speeds coming in lower than the long-term average.
The report also showed offshore wind providing 14% of total UK electricity generation (business and domestic), compared to 38% from gas. While the UK’s 2022 offshore wind output of 45TWh saved the equivalent of 17m tonnes of CO2 emissions.
