Facts
- 12 operational offshore wind farms
- 4 in development (Hornsea 4, Isle of Man, Stromar, Salamander)
- Total capacity, 5.6 GW
- Enough to power over 6 million UK homes
- Our wind farms generate over 7% of the UK’s electricity
The UK is a global leader in the offshore wind industry, building on strong political support and the government’s ambitious target of 50 GW of offshore wind in operation by 2030. Within this supportive policy environment, the UK has become a core market for Ørsted.
We currently operate 12 offshore wind farms in the UK. With a total capacity of 5.6 GW, our wind farms generate enough green energy to power over 6 million UK homes a year.
We’ve also broken our own records for the world’s largest offshore wind farm several times over right here off the Yorkshire coast in the North Sea – first with Hornsea 1 (1.2 GW) and then with Hornsea 2 (1.3 GW). We’re now working on our third gigawatt-scale project in the Hornsea zone.
We’re currently building Hornsea 3 which will be the world’s single largest offshore wind farm with a capacity of 2.9 GW upon its expected completion around the end of 2027. It will generate enough low-cost, renewable electricity to power more than 3.3 million UK homes.
The Hornsea zone will also include Ørsted’s Hornsea 4 project, which could have a capacity of up to 2.6 GW.
Our multi-billion-pound investment in these projects will benefit both the local and national UK economy through supply chain investment and jobs.
Operational wind farms
We fully or partly own 12 operational wind farms in the UK. They produce enough renewable electricity to power over 6 million UK homes a year. Learn more about our wind farms below.
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Barrow
Electricity generated by the wind farm is delivered to the National Grid at a substation in Heysham, Lancashire via 27km of buried subsea transmission and onshore cables.
Construction and commissioning work was completed in June 2006, a little over a year after offshore work got underway in the East Irish Sea. First power was generated in March 2006. Ørsted's team of technicians and project staff operate the wind farm from an operations and maintenance (O&M) base in Barrow-in-Furness.
Facts Overall capacity
90 MW
Number of turbines 30 Commercial Operation 2006 Location East Irish Sea, 7km South West of Walney Island near Barrow-in-Furness Ownership 100% Ørsted 
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Burbo Bank
Burbo Bank produces enough electricity to power over 80,000 UK homes annually.
Facts Overall capacity
90 MW
Number of turbines 25 Commercial Operation 2007 Location Burbo Flats in Liverpool Bay approximately 6.4km from the Sefton coastline Ownership 100% Ørsted 
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Burbo Bank Extension
Burbo Bank Extension produces enough electricity to power over 230,000 UK homes.
Facts Overall capacity
258MW
Number of turbines 32 Commercial Operation 2017 Location Burbo Flats off Liverpool Bay Ownership Ørsted (50%), LEGO (Kirkbi), Greencoat
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Gunfleet Sands
Gunfleet Sands produces enough electricity to power over 150,000 UK homes annually.
This wind farm originally consisting of two stages, a third demonstration project was completed in 2013 to test the new 6MW turbines.
Facts Overall capacity
170MW
Number of turbines 48 Commercial Operation 2013 Location 7km south-east of Clacton-on-Sea, Essex Ownership Ørsted 50.1%, JERA 24.95%, DBJ 24.95%
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Hornsea 1
Hornsea 1 produces enough energy to power well over one million UK homes. With a capacity of 1.2 gigawatts (GW), the project was the world's first offshore wind farm to exceed 1 GW in capacity. Hornsea 1 held the title of the world's largest offshore wind farm until its sister project, Hornsea 2 took the crown in 2022.
Located off the Yorkshire coast, Hornsea 1 spans a huge area of approximately 407 square kilometres, which is over five times the size of the city of Hull.
The offshore wind farm has 174 wind turbines of 7 megawatts (MW). Each one is 190 metres tall – larger than the Gherkin building in London.
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Hornsea 2
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LincsLincs produces enough electricity to power over 240,000 UK homes annually.
Facts Overall capacity
270MW
Number of turbines 75 Commercial Operation 2012 Location 8km off the east coast, near Skegness in Lincolnshire Ownership Ørsted (25%), UK Green Investment Group (GIG), Octopus Renewables
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Race BankRace Bank produces enough electricity to power over 500,000 UK homes
Facts Overall capacity 573MW Number of turbines 91 Commercial operation 2018 Location 17 miles off Blakeney Point on the North Norfolk coast and 17 miles off the Lincolnshire coast at Chapel St Leonards Ownership Ørsted (50%), Macquarie (MIRA), RE Fund by Sumitomo/SMBC/DBJ, Funds managed by Arjun and Gravis 
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WalneyWalney produces enough electricity to power over 320,000 UK homes.
Facts Overall capacity
367MW
Number of turbines 102 Commercial Operation 2012 Location 15km from coastline of Walney Island Ownership Ørsted 50.1%, PGGM 24.8% and Greencoat 25.1%
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Walney Extension
Facts
87 turbines
generate a combined total capacity of 659 MW50 local suppliers
were involved throughout construction250 local jobs
created through operation and maintenance activitiesWalney Extension offshore wind farm, located in the Irish Sea, generates enough clean electricity to power nearly 600,000 homes. This massive feat of engineering was constructed on time and on budget and was inaugurated on the 6 September 2018.
The wind farm is located approximately 19km (11.8 miles) west of Barrow-in-Furness off the northwest coast. The 659-megawatt (MW) project, owned by Ørsted (50%) and partners AIP Management and PFA, is situated next to the existing Walney offshore wind farm and West of Duddon Sands offshore wind farm.
Learn more about Walney Extension
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West of Duddon Sands
West of Duddon Sands produces enough electricity to power over 340,000 UK homes annually.
Facts Overall capacity
389MW
Number of turbines 108 Commercial Operation 2014 Location 14km from Walney Island, Cumbria Ownership 50% Ørsted, 50% Scottish Power Renewables
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Westermost Rough
Westermost Rough produces enough electricity to power over 180,000 UK homes annually.
Facts Overall capacity
210MW
Number of turbines 35 Commercial Operation 2015 Location 8km off the Yorkshire Coast, north of Hull Ownership Ørsted (50%), Equitix, USS, Stepstone, BAE Systems Pension Funds, CLAL Insurance
Wind farms in construction
Learn about our projects in construction
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Hornsea 3
We took final investment decision (FID) on Hornsea 3 in December 2023. With a capacity of 2.9 GW, Hornsea 3 will be the world’s single largest offshore wind farm upon its expected completion in 2027. The landmark project will generate enough low-cost, renewable electricity to power more than 3.3 million UK homes.
It will also be our third gigawatt-scale project in the Hornsea zone, following Hornsea 1 (1.2 GW) and Hornsea 2 (1.3 GW).
Located 160 km off the Yorkshire coast and 120 km off the Norfolk coast, Hornsea 3 will be operated from Ørsted’s operations and maintenance hub in Grimsby.
Wind farms in development
We currently have four offshore in development. Read more about the latest activities for these projects.-
Hornsea 4
Our development of the Hornsea Zone will also include the Hornsea 4 offshore wind project. Located approximately 69 km off the Yorkshire coast, Hornsea 4 could have a capacity of up to 2.6 GW.
Hornsea 4 received its development consent order from the UK government in 2023 and is now eligible for forthcoming CfD allocation rounds.
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Mooir Vannin
Ørsted is proposing to develop the Isle of Man’s first wind farm offshore – the Mooir Vannin project.
Since Ørsted and the Isle of Man Government signed an Agreement for Lease at the end of 2015, environmental and technical studies of the area have been underway to determine the scope and scale of the project.
The wind farm will be located in the Irish Sea, within the Isle of Man’s territorial seas, approximately 6-12 nautical miles off the east coast of the Island. It is expected to have a capacity of around 1.4 GW.
We intend to submit our application for planning consent to the Isle of Man Government in early 2025.
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Salamander
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Stromar