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.
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Last year saw a number of offshore wind developments around the UK complete. Hornsea 2, the world’s largest offshore wind farm with capacity to power 1.1m homes, became fully operational, as did Moray East off the North East coast of Scotland.
There are now 50 wind farms in UK waters which are either operating or under construction. Six offshore wind projects have been granted Agreements for Lease by the Crown Estate including The Mona project, off the coast of the north east of Anglesey. The six projects are expected to add 8GW of capacity and generate power by 2030.
The new agreements were announced ahead of ambitious plans by Crown Estate to deliver a 4GW floating offshore wind farm in the Celtic Sea by 2035, with the region assessed to have the economic potential to accommodate up to an additional 20GW by 2045.
Internationally, The Crown Estate said the UK continues to be at the forefront of offshore wind and is the most attractive place to invest. In 2022, UK offshore wind capacity accounted for 24% of global capacity, second only to China.
Gus Jaspert, managing director for marine, The Crown Estate, said: “The UK’s offshore wind sector continues to be a world leader and a UK success story. Now generating enough electricity to meet the needs of more than 40 per cent of UK homes, the sector is having a major impact on meeting the national challenges of energy security and decarbonisation to address climate change.
“This success comes from years of hard work, collaboration and innovation across an extraordinarily diverse range of partners and industries. But we can’t stop there. We need to achieve more in the next decade than we have in the last two if we are to help the UK meet its clean, secure energy ambitions. With more demands than ever on the nation’s invaluable seabed, we must work across sectors to carefully plan how to unlock its full potential whilst supporting a thriving natural world for the benefit of the nation.”
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