Sign up for our newsletter
  1. Home
  2. Green energy solutions
  3. Offshore wind

Our offshore wind farms

We're leading the world in offshore wind
right here in the UK

Learn about our offshore wind farms that are in development, in construction, and the ones that are operational, all right here in the UK.

Hornsea2
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 2.4 GW. 

Our multi-billion-pound investment in these projects will benefit both the local and national UK economy through supply chain investment and jobs. 

Learn more about the community benefits of offshore wind

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.

  • 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
  • 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
  • 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 

  • 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%

    Gunfleet Sands wind farm map
  • 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.

    Learn more about Hornsea 1

    Map showing the location of Hornsea 1 Offshore Wind Farm.
  • Hornsea 2
    Facts
    • 165 turbines delivering 1.3GW of renewable electricity
    • The wind farms covers an area of 462 sq. km – equal to 31 Lake Windermeres
    • Each turbine blade is 81m long and the blade tip is more than 200m above sea level
    • One revolution of the turbine blades can power an average UK home for 24 hours

    Hornsea Two is located  89km off the Yorkshire coast, adjacent to sister project Hornsea 1.  The 1.3GW project comprises 165 wind turbines which will help power over 1.4 million UK homes with low-cost renewable energy. 

    The project has played a key role in the ongoing development of a larger and sustainably competitive UK supply chain to support the next phase of the UK’s offshore wind success story.

    The offshore wind farm will make an important contribution towards the UK goal for renewable electricity generation and to achieve the UK's energy security and carbon reduction objectives. Hornsea 2 is the continuation of our strong commitment to the UK and further investment into the UK offshore wind pipeline.

    Hornsea 2 became fully operational on 31 August 2022

    Learn more about the project

  • Lincs
    Lincs 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

  • Race Bank
    Race 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

     

  • Walney
    Walney 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%

    Walney Extension location map
  • Walney Extension
    Facts

    87 turbines
    generate a combined total capacity of 659 MW

     

    50 local suppliers
    were involved throughout construction

     

    250 local jobs
    created through operation and maintenance activities
    Walney 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
  • West of Duddon Sands

    West of Duddon Sands produces enough electricity to power over 340,000 UK homes annually. 

    Learn more about West of Duddon Sands

    Facts
    Overall capacity
    		 389MW
    Number of turbines 108
    Commercial Operation 2014
    Location 14km from Walney Island, Cumbria
    Ownership 25.5% Ørsted, 24.5% Schroders Greencoat, 50% Scottish Power Renewables

  • 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
  • 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. 

    Learn more about the project 

     

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 was awarded a contract for difference (CfD) for 2,400 MW in the UK’s allocation round 6. We are now working taking a final investment decision (FID) on Hornsea 4 by early 2026. 

    Learn more about the Project

     

    Hornsea Four location map

  • 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. 
    Map showing the Mooir Vannin offshore wind array area
    We intend to submit our application for planning consent to the Isle of Man Government in early 2025.
     

    Learn more about the project

  • Salamander
    We are developing the joint-venture Salamander floating offshore project with partners Simply Blue Energy and Subsea7. 

    Located about 35 km off the coast of Peterhead in northeast Scotland, the 100 MW floating offshore wind farm is in an advanced planning stage. 

    Designed as a stepping-stone for floating wind technology developers, supply chains and stakeholders, the project is supporting the cost reduction and learning journey needed while ensuring the local economy, communities and environment secure the maximum possible benefit from commercial deployment of floating offshore wind.

    Learn more about the project
  • Stromar
    We are developing our first large-scale floating wind development project, Stromar, with joint-venture partners Renantis and BlueFloat Energy.

    Stromar will be located off the coast of Caithness in northern Scotland, around 50 km east of Wick.  

    With an expected capacity of 1 GW, it will be one of the world’s largest floating offshore wind farms.

    The Joint Venture partners signed an Option Agreement with Crown Estate Scotland in April 2022, awarded as part of the ScotWind offshore wind leasing round.

    The project is in early-stage development. During 2023, we finalised our Scoping Report, which sets out in detail how we plan to assess and manage environmental impacts in accordance with the requirements of our key stakeholders. In 2024 we will start preparing our Environmental Impact Assessment for submission.

    Learn more about the project
     

Discover the location of our UK offshore wind farms

UK offshore wind supply chain

Offshore wind farm projects enable us to build a healthy and competitive supply chain

Discover our offshore wind supply chain

Do better business. Go Green.

Our green Corporate Power Purchase Agreements are the smarter choice for your business and our planet

Explore Corporate PPAs in the UK