RenewableUK is highlighting the record amount of offshore wind capacity installed this year.
More than 2 gigawatts (GW) went operational in UK waters during 2018 – enough to power over 2,300,000 homes all year round.
In 2018 eight new offshore wind farms were officially opened, bringing the annual total of new capacity to 2,121 megawatts (MW) – nearly double the previous annual record of 1,154MW in 2012. This near-doubling of capacity was achieved with just 18% more turbines than were installed in 2012 (367 turbines this year compared to 309 turbines in 2012), underlining the impressive growth in turbine power in the last 6 years. Since 2012, the average capacity of an offshore turbine has grown over 50% from 3.7MW to 5.8MW this year.
New projects opened this year included the world’s largest operational offshore wind farm, Walney Extension (659MW), Rampion (400MW) and Race Bank (573MW), as well as the world’s second floating offshore wind farm, Kincardine, in Scottish waters.
