In total, offshore wind generated 45 TWh of electricity last year, up from 37 TWh in 2021 and a sixfold increase over the past 10 years, and is estimated to be generating enough electricity to meet the needs of nearly half (47%) of UK homes by the end of the current year. The new record was achieved despite 2022 wind speeds coming in lower than the long-term average.

Last year saw a number of key developments in the UK offshore wind sector – Hornsea 2, the world’s largest offshore wind farm with capacity to power 1.1 million 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, with another seven that have secured a contract for difference (CfD). There is also a significant development pipeline, including up to 8 GW of additional capacity to come from the Round 4 projects that signed lease agreements with The Crown Estate earlier this year.

Internationally, the UK continues to be at the forefront of offshore wind as ‘the most attractive place to invest', claims The Crown Estate. In 2022, UK offshore wind capacity accounted for 24% of global capacity, second only to China, with continued progress to push hard to meet the government’s target of 50 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.

Blowing off course – a warning
Meanwhile, Energy UK has warned that the forthcoming CfD auction will fall ‘well short’ of delivering the expansion needed to hit the government’s 2030 target for offshore wind capacity.

At present, there is around 27 GW in operation or in receipt of a CfD contract. As future offshore wind developments will almost exclusively come through the scheme, that means forthcoming auctions will need to deliver another 23 GW.

However, long lead-in times for such projects means the extra capacity will need to come from the next three annual auctions, working out at a record 8 GW each round. Energy UK analysis shows that the forthcoming (AR5) auction will, at best, bring forward 3.2 GW of new capacity – 4.8 GW short of the necessary amount and meaning the next round will have even further to catch up. In fact, the rising costs and other challenges facing developers of clean energy projects means it is likely the auction will actually bring forward even less capacity than the maximum possible, it claims.

Energy UK’s Deputy Director Adam Berman warns: ‘Meeting the government’s clean energy ambitions requires a relentless focus on delivery. The introduction of annual auctions was a welcome and necessary step to accelerate the roll-out of offshore wind – but that will prove futile if the auctions themselves are underpowered. Developers are facing challenging investment conditions, but the government simply hasn’t gone far enough in recognising the effect of higher costs in the forthcoming round.’