We're leading the world in offshore wind right here in the UK
The UK is the world leader in offshore wind, with more capacity installed than any other country. By 2030, the UK will be getting about a third of its electricity from offshore wind.
Offshore wind is one of the country’s biggest growth industries, already employing thousands of people in highly-skilled jobs and attracting billions in investment, helping to transform coastal communities.
The UK is home to the world’s largest offshore wind farms and here we have 12 operational offshore wind farms that we either own or partly own and a further three in our development pipeline. Ørsted’s current installed capacity in the UK is 5.6GW which is enough green energy to power over 7 million UK homes a year.
Wind farms have been increasing in size; for a long time the largest was London Array, but in 2018 we overtook it with Walney Extension located off the North-West coast of England. However, our Hornsea One Offshore Wind Farm is nearly double the size of that – truly representing a step change in the size of offshore wind farms. It was the first offshore wind farm ever to be built over one gigawatt, the furthest from shore and now powers well over a million homes with clean electricity. This wind farm didn't hold the title for long, it’s sister project, Hornsea Two took the crown as the world's largest offshore wind farm in August 2022, providing enough clean electricity for well over 1.4 million homes.
By 2030, our ambition is to have installed 30GW of offshore wind globally. We develop, construct, own and operate offshore wind farms in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. We also have development projects in Taiwan and USA.
Turbines now generate over four times the power of the first UK offshore wind turbines, dramatically reducing costs across the industry. Innovation has been a key driver of cost reduction and we expect to see turbine sizes continue to grow.
Turbines constructed for our giant 1.4GW Hornsea Two offshore wind farm 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.
We are playing a leading role in the offshore wind sector, which aims to deploy 50GW of offshore wind by 2030.
For over 10 years, we have worked closely with UK companies to deliver significant multi-billion-pound infrastructure projects. Ørsted is committed to supporting the development of a competitive UK supply chain that can assist in the construction and operation of our wind farms both in the UK and in a growing number of markets around the world.
Our close collaboration with suppliers has helped transform coastal communities through business investment, and employment opportunities, contributing to a more productive, competitive and export orientated supply chain.
Ørsted’s East Coast Hub Operations and Maintenance facility in Grimsby
It is not just businesses that benefits from offshore wind. The communities in which we operate our 12 offshore wind farms play a vital role in helping us realise our ambition to create a world that runs entirely on green energy and we want to have a positive impact on those communities. This is why we have established three Community Benefit Funds (CBF) to support local groups and organisations.
Our three funds have awarded over £8 million to projects on the East and West coast of the UK. Awarded projects range from the arts, community activities and services, education and skills, nature conservation parks and open spaces to play facilities, sport and more.
The communities in which we operate are also home to our offices, which are helping to regenerate the surrounding areas. Our East Coast Hub in Grimsby is a state-of-the-art offshore wind Operations and Maintenance Centre which employs over 500 members. It has become a game changing industry first, raising the bar for the way we maintain offshore wind farms.
Explore how offshore wind is transforming UK coastal communities
Discover our impact in the Humber region. Download the independent report
