UK offshore wind history

The UK's first demonstration offshore wind farm was installed in December 2000 off the Northumberland coast. It consists of two 2 MW Vestas wind turbines with a rotor diameter of 66 m, on monopile foundations in about 10 m water, less than 2 km from shore.

At the time, these were the largest turbines installed offshore in the world. At the same time, the first applications (Round 1) for sea bed leases were presented to The Crown Estate, the landlord for the sea bed within UK waters.

Figure 84 Blyth offshore wind farm, courtesy of E.ON.

North Hoyle, the UK's first commercial wind farm was installed off the North Wales coast. It consists of thirty 2 MW Vestas turbines with a rotor diameter of 80 m, on monopile foundations in about 12 m water, about 8 km from shore.

Other Round 1 projects followed soon after, though the last of 12 projects were only installed in 2013, bringing the total Round 1 capacity to 1.2 GW. Five projects were withdrawn based on environmental grounds.
In 2003, Narec (now part of the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult), was set up in Blyth to support the development of renewable energy by providing world-class test and other technical services.

At the end of 2003, the results of Round 2 of sea bed leasing were announced, with 15 projects awarded a total of 7.2 GW capacity.

Figure 85 Aerial view of the North Hoyle offshore wind farm. Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0), photo by Tom Jeffs.

Burbo Bank was the first UK offshore wind farm where 100 m rotor diameter turbines were installed. It consists of 25 3.6 MW Siemens turbines with a rotor diameter of 107 m, installed off Liverpool.

At the same time, two 5 MW Senvion turbines with a rotor diameter of 126 m were installed in the Moray Firth, Scotland, on the first jacket foundations installed in offshore wind, globally.

In 2007, the Government announced a strategic environmental assessment as an early step to Round 3 of sea bed leasing by The Crown Estate. The third sea bed leasing round was subsequently launched by The Crown Estate in 2008, offering nine large zones with a capacity of around 30 GW.

Figure 86 Aerial view of the Burbo Bank offshore wind farm, courtesy of Ørsted.

In 2009, the first 100 MW project started operation off the Lincolnshire coast, when the twin projects Lynn and Inner Dowsing were commissioned. The single construction project consists of 54 3.6 MW Siemens turbines, totalling 194 MW.

UK installations pushed the UK past Denmark to take over as the global lead for offshore wind installed capacity.

Figure 87 Lynn and Inner Dowsing Wind Farm under construction. Creative Commons (CC BY-2.0), photo by Chris.

Thanet, in the Southern North Sea, became the world's largest offshore wind project and the first to have 100 turbines. It consists of 100 3 MW Vestas turbines, located in water depths up to 23 m, about 12 km from shore.

At the same time, the winners of The Crown Estate's Round 3 leasing competition were announced, the largest with capacity up to 10 GW. Thanet, in the Southern North Sea, became the world's largest offshore wind project and the first to have 100 turbines. It consists of 100 3 MW Vestas turbines, located in water depths up to 23 m, about 12 km from shore.

At the same time, the winners of The Crown Estate's Round 3 leasing competition were announced, the largest with capacity up to 10 GW.

Figure 88 Thanet offshore wind farm, courtesy of Vattenfall.

Greater Gabbard, the UK's first 500 MW project started operation. It consists of 140 3.6 MW Siemens turbines and became the world's largest offshore wind farm.

In 2012, The Crown Estate also published its flagship industry report on the potential for cost of energy reduction in offshore wind to 2020. Coupled with the output the Offshore Wind Cost Reduction Task Force, this set the direction of Government-industry collaboration in offshore wind for the next six years.

It was also the year that the ORE Catapult was established in Glasgow to lead technology innovation and research centre for offshore wind, wave and tidal energy.

Figure 89 Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm, courtesy of Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm.

The first 7 MW turbine was constructed offshore in the Firth of Forth, Scotland. The prototype turbine, developed by Samsung, has a rotor diameter 171 m. This turbine is now operated by ORE Catapult.

At the same time, the first 6 MW direct-drive (gearless) Siemens offshore wind turbines were installed at Gunfleet Sands in the Thames Estuary. Historically, gearboxes have been a source of unreliability and OPEX for wind turbines, but removing them drives a significant increase in size and cost of the generator. Some other suppliers, such as MHI Vestas, have opted for a mid-speed generator with a simplified gearbox as a solution.

London Array, at 630 MW, took over as the world's largest wind farm, consisting of 175 3.6 MW Siemens turbines.

The Government also announced an intermediate step to a new auction market mechanism for offshore wind, Contracts for Difference (CfD) as part of Electricity Market Reform. This step, known as Final Investment Decision (FID) Enabling for Renewables, led eventually to a range of offshore wind projects obtaining strike prices of £140 to £155/ MWh for projects delivered up to 2019.

Figure 90 Levenmouth turbine, courtesy of Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult.

The first CfD auction results for UK offshore wind were announced, with strike prices of £114 to £120/ MWh (2012 prices) for projects to be delivered by 2019.

In 2014, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. the Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics company and wind turbine supplier Vestas established a 50:50 joint venture for supply to the offshore wind industry, MHI Vestas Offshore Wind.

Figure 91 Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm, (c) RWE.

Seven years after obtaining an agreement for lease, the first wind farm from the UK leasing Round 3 started operation (although it was not fully commissioned until 2018). Rampion, in the English Channel, consists of 130 3.45 MW turbines from MHI Vestas Offshore Wind.

At the same time, the world's first commercial floating offshore wind farm Hywind Scotland started operation. The five 6 MW Siemens turbines were installed on spar-buoy foundations in water about 100 m deep off Peterhead in Grampian, Scotland.

The second CfD auction results for UK offshore wind were announced, with strike prices of £57 to £75/ MWh (2012 prices) for projects to be delivered by 2023, showing a substantial cost of energy reduction since the previous auction.

German conglomerate, Siemens, the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe, merged its wind division with Spanish turbine supplier Gamesa to form Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. GE Renewable Energy acquired leading wind turbine blade manufacturer LM Wind Power.

Figure 92 Rampion offshore wind farm, courtesy of Rampion Offshore Wind.

The first contracts were placed for MHI Vestas Offshore Wind 9.5 MW turbines, which will be installed in 2021 and 2022 at the Triton Knoll and Moray East wind farms. Both MHI Vestas Offshore Wind and Siemens Gamesa

Renewable Energy have 10 MW+ turbines and GE Renewable Energy announced its 12 MW+ turbine with a 220 m diameter rotor.

At the same time, the record for the largest offshore wind farm was broken, with the 659 MW Walney Extension project in Morecambe Bay, consisting of 40 MHI Vestas Offshore Wind 8.25 MW turbines and 47 Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy 7 MW turbines.

Figure 93 Siemens SG 10.0-193 DD, (c) Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.

The 1,218 MW Hornsea One wind farm began operation becoming the world's largest offshore wind farm. It consists of 174 Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy 7 MW turbines and is almost double the capacity of the previous largest offshore wind farm.

The 588 MW Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm, Scotland’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project developed through the Scottish Territorial Waters leasing round, entered operation. Located in the Moray Firth, Beatrice features 84 Siemens Gamesa 7 MW turbines and marked a major milestone for Scotland’s offshore wind industry.

The third CfD auction resulted in record low prices for offshore wind, awarding strike prices (at 2012 prices) of £39.65/ MWh and £41.61/ MWh for projects commissioned in 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 respectively. Projects in what was the Dogger Bank Round 3 Zone were awarded CfDs for a total of 4.8 GW.
Following the CfD auction results, it was announced that two projects would be built without a CfD.

These were the East Anglia THREE project (that will now be built alongside East Anglia ONE North and TWO projects as one large project called the East Anglia Hub) and an additional part of the Seagreen Phase 1 project.
The first offshore wind project in the UK was decommissioned. The 4 MW Blyth Offshore Wind farm had been commissioned in 2000.

In 2019 the UK Government and the Offshore Wind Industry Council signed a Sector Deal for offshore wind in the UK. The deal included a number of targets for the industry including a target of 30 GW of installed capacity by 2030, which has since been increased to 40 GW.

Figure 94 Hornsea Project One wind farm. Creative commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) photo by The joy of all things.

There was only one offshore wind project installed in the UK during 2020, the 714 MW East Anglia ONE project which was fully commissioned in July 2020. Offshore construction began for the Triton Knoll and Neart na Gaoithe projects. Onshore construction started for the Dogger Bank A and B projects, which also reached FID. The projects will have a combined installed capacity of 2.4 GW. Dogger Bank A and B will also use GE Renewable Energy’s 13

MW Haliade-X turbine, the first time turbines of this size have been contracted.

New lease competitions run by The Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland were delayed, including by COVID-19.
SGRE also announced its latest offshore turbine rated at 14 MW with a rotor diameter of 222 m. The turbine will first be installed on commercial projects in 2024.

Figure 95 East Anglia ONE under construction, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) photo by Trommens

The Crown Estate allocated areas for nearly 8 GW of offshore wind capacity in the Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4 in 2021. The six winning bids will pay a combined £879 million every year throughout the development phase in option fees. The Crown Estate also announced its plans to lease up to 4 GW floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea.

The first round of offshore wind leasing in Scottish waters for over a decade, ScotWind, was launched in July 2021, with water depths suitable for bottom-fixed and floating offshore wind.
The UK Government also launched the fourth CfD allocation round with a pot of £200 million allocated for offshore wind, and an additional £24 million ringfenced specifically for floating offshore wind. It also announced that CfD auctions will be conducted annually from 2023 onwards to increase the rate of installations.

The largest floating offshore windfarm to date, Kincardine Offshore Windfarm, was fully commissioned in October 2021 with an installed capacity of 50 MW.

The Hornsea 2 project generated its first power in December 2021. Once completed, the 1.3 GW windfarm will overtake Hornsea 1 as the largest offshore wind farm in the world. It is expected to become fully operational in 2022.

Figure 96 Prototype of the Principle Power floating foundations used in the Kincardine project. Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) photo by Untrakdrover.

The Hornsea Two offshore wind farm became fully operational, surpassing Hornsea One to become the world's largest offshore wind farm with a capacity of 1.3 GW. The project consists of 165 Siemens Gamesa 8 MW turbines and is located off the Yorkshire coast in the North Sea.

ScotWind, the largest leasing round for Scottish offshore wind to date, concluded with 20 projects awarded seabed rights, representing potential of 27.625 GW of capacity at the time. This marked a significant step towards Scotland’s renewable energy ambitions and the deployment of large-scale floating offshore wind technology.

The UK Government confirmed its 50 GW offshore wind target for 2030, including 5 GW of floating wind. The results of the fourth Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction were announced, awarding record-low strike prices of as little as £37.35/ MWh (2012 prices) for offshore wind projects, highlighting the continued cost reductions in the sector.

The UK Government held the fifth CfD auction, but for the first time, no major offshore wind projects were awarded due to strike price concerns. The failure of the auction raised concerns about investment in the sector and prompted the government to reassess its approach to offshore wind pricing mechanisms.

Dogger Bank Wind Farm Phase A began installing its first turbines, making it the first project globally to use GE Renewable Energy’s 13 MW Haliade-X turbines, with a rotor diameter of 220 m. The project, set to be the world's largest upon full completion, is expected to reach 3.6 GW across three phases.

The first commercial-scale 15 MW wind turbines were contracted for UK projects, with manufacturers such as Siemens Gamesa and GE announcing plans to deploy their latest high-capacity models. These turbines will be installed at future phases of Dogger Bank and other projects scheduled for the mid-2020s.

Seagreen Wind Farm was fully commissioned in 2023, becoming Scotland’s largest wind farm and the world’s deepest fixed-bottom farm, with maximum turbine depth of 58.7m.

Floating wind continued to gain traction with the result of the INTOG (Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas) leasing round from Crown Estate Scotland, aimed at integrating offshore wind with oil and gas decarbonisation. Thirteen projects were offered seabed rights, representing 5.5GW of capacity. The first of these projects, Green Volt, was allocated a CfD in 2024, becoming one of the first commercial scale floating wind project to be granted funding.
The Crown Estate also progressed plans for Celtic Sea floating wind development, targeting 4 GW by 2035.

Despite the previous year’s CfD setback, major investment in the UK offshore wind supply chain was announced, including expansions in turbine blade manufacturing, subsea cables, and port infrastructure to support the increasing scale of offshore wind projects. The UK continued its leadership in offshore wind innovation, with the deployment of next-generation floating wind platforms and new HVDC transmission technologies for more efficient energy transport.

The first turbines for the Moray West project were installed, with the wind farm expected to contribute an additional 882 MW to Scotland’s renewable energy portfolio by 2025.

The UK surpassed 20 GW of installed offshore wind capacity, reinforcing its position as a global leader in the sector. The milestone was achieved with the commissioning of major projects such as Dogger Bank B and Moray West, as well as the expansion of floating offshore wind installations.

The UK Government confirmed plans for a sixth CfD auction, with further emphasis on supply chain investment, grid upgrades, and floating wind deployment. Offshore wind’s contribution to UK electricity generation continued to grow, helping to drive progress towards net zero emissions by 2050.