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Offshore Wind

Further Offshore and Larger Wind Farm Developments

The future of offshore wind in the UK and the world is large scale and futher offshore. Projects submitted to the Crown Estates 'Round Two' of offshore wind development are as large as 1 GW and outside of UK territorial waters, minimising visual impact and maximising the economies of scale of offshore wind.

Many costs do not increase in proportion to project size, such as laying of power cables, onshore works and project development costs, making larger projects more economically viable. Also large utility and energy companies are becoming offshore wind developers, and are developing on the 500-1000 MW scale familar to conventional electricity generation. It is these projects that will make offshore wind's transition to mainstream UK power generation.

Denmark already has 2 projects greater than 100 MW (Horns Rev and Nystead). The extension of the RO to 15% by 2015 has brought large scale UK offshore wind to a state of bankability. Finally, the declaration in the Government's Energy Act 2004 of Renewable Energy Zones (Exclusive Economic Area under UNCLOS) in the North Sea for offshore wind, similar to that for oil and gas, has created a legal framework for development outside of UK territorial waters. The map below shows the extent of UK continental shelf at water depths suitable for development.

Naturally this area is constrained by a wide variety of environmental and economic concerns. BWEA members consult widely on these issues, and form a central piece of the Round One and Two consenting proceedures. Find out more about BWEA policy on consultation for offshore developments. Environmental organisations such as Greenpeace are advocating large scale wind farms well offshore as one of the best way of achieving the Government target for renewable energy.

Click here to find out about the current status of 'Round Two'.