Powerful winds are blowing over the UK’s offshore wind industry.

New research published today by the trade association RenewableUK suggests the UK’s pipeline of offshore wind projects at all stages of development now stands at 99.8GW across 130 projects.

This translates to an increase of 14GW over the past year, analysts have said.

The report estimates that the global offshore wind pipeline now stands at 1,174GW across 1,417 projects in 38 countries, an increase of 508GW over the past 12 months.

Of the 60GW of global operational capacity, China is in the lead with 47%, while the UK retains its position as the second-largest with 23%.

The authors of the report agree that China and the UK are expected to retain first and second place until at least 2030.

RenewableUK’s Chief Executive Dan McGrail said: “It’s great to see the UK retaining a powerful position in offshore wind, second only to China. However, as our latest report shows, new markets are emerging fast in places like Australia and Brazil, so we can’t take our current status as a world leader for granted.

“The US and EU are offering massive financial incentives for developers to build renewable energy projects – while in the UK we’re being taxed more heavily than oil and gas companies.

“Unless we take bold action to attract billions in private investment, we risk being left behind in the years ahead – the money will simply go elsewhere and we’ll lose out on tens of thousands of jobs.”

Article source: https://www.energylivenews.com/2023/02/15/uk-offshore-wind-pipeline-hits-nearly-100gw/