From the world’s first to the world’s biggest
Ørsted is the global leader in offshore wind energy . Since pioneering the world’s first offshore wind farm in 1991, we’ve built more wind farms at sea than any other company worldwide.
With 9.8 GW of offshore wind installed globally, we’ve broken our own records for the largest wind farm in the world several times over.
Hornsea 2, our project approximately 90 km off the coast of Yorkshire, is recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s “highest-capacity offshore wind farm” with 1.3 GW – enough to power 1.4 million UK homes.
We’re currently building Hornsea 3, our third record-breaking, gigawatt scale project in British waters. Hornsea 3, which will have a capacity of 2.9 GW, will generate enough low-cost, offshore renewable energy to power more than 3.3 million UK homes.
We operate across Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region. Our ambition is to bring offshore wind energy to even more markets and to have 20-22 GW of offshore wind installed globally by 2030.
How do offshore wind turbines work?
A simple scientific principle combined with cutting-edge technology captures the natural power of the wind to power our homes and businesses.
Using the principle of electromagnetism, electrical energy is generated by rotating magnets inside a coil of conductive wire. In a wind turbine, that rotation is achieved with the power of the wind.
- The wind turns the blades of the turbine which are connected to a rotor.
- The rotor spins a shaft inside the nacelle, which is connected to a generator. The movement of the shaft inside the generator creates electricity.
- The electricity generated is transmitted through cables within the turbine structure, down to the seabed, and then to shore through underwater cables.
One offshore wind turbine rotation generates enough electricity to power a UK home for 24 hours. But in order to truly tackle climate change, we need scale. That’s why wind turbines are grouped together to form a wind farm.
This video explains how offshore wind farms work
Technical innovation
Offshore wind power used to be very expensive to construct and operate. But innovation, industry maturation, and supply chain growth have all played a part in driving down the costs of offshore wind energy in the UK to the point where it is now the cheapest technology for generating electricity.
For example. the turbines used on our Hornsea 2 project are almost 18 times as powerful as those used for Vindeby, the world’s first offshore wind farm located off the Danish island of Lolland.
For example. the turbines used on our Hornsea 2 project are almost 18 times as powerful as those used for Vindeby, the world’s first offshore wind farm located off the Danish island of Lolland.
