- 92 gigawatts now fully operational – projected to reach 100GW milestone this year.
- £493bn expected in offshore wind investment globally over next five years.
- £100bn investment in UK projects – more than one-fifth of global total.
- Highest ever amount of UK offshore wind now under construction at 11.5GW.
RenewableUK’s latest EnergyPulse Insights Offshore Wind report shows that despite tough conditions in most parts of the global economy, operational offshore wind capacity has grown by 7.6% worldwide, from 85.4 gigawatts twelve months ago to 91.9GW today. The new capacity added over the past year generates enough electricity to power the equivalent of more than 6.5 million UK homes annually.
An additional 7.75GW is close to final completion, meaning that the milestone of 100GW of offshore wind operational worldwide is expected to be reached this year. 100GW is enough to power more than 40 million EVs for a year.
Overall, 38GW is under construction globally, with the total global pipeline of projects at any stage of development stands at 922GW across 1,461 projects in 49 countries:
£493 billion is expected to be invested in offshore wind globally over the next five years in capital expenditure (£378bn in CAPEX) and developing and operating projects (£83bn in DEVEX and £32bn in OPEX). The report predicts that the highest level of capital investment over the next five years is expected in China at £108bn, with the UK attracting the second highest amount at £81bn, followed by Germany at £41bn:
EnergyPulse data shows capital investment in US offshore wind projects over the next five years is still expected to be the fifth highest in the world, despite the present administration’s attempts to restrict its development. This is due to payments for projects already under construction and international markets expecting a ramp-up in activity by shovel-ready projects a year into the next American administration, according to the report.
EnergyPulse is tracking projects in 49 countries, including those at an early stage of development such as Brazil, Turkey and Morocco, as well as those now starting to deliver frameworks to support projects including Australia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Other markets such as South Korea and Japan are maintaining substantial pipelines.
The UK currently has its highest ever amount of offshore wind under construction at 11.5GW. The UK has a total pipeline of 91.4GW across 137 projects:
The report highlights the fact that the offshore wind industry has invested £100bn in UK projects over the past 25 years and is set to invest another £100bn over the next five years, as the UK is expected to more than double its operational portfolio within that period. This includes £81bn in capital expenditure building offshore wind farms (CAPEX) and £18bn on planning and operating projects (DEVEX and OPEX). As £493bn is expected to be invested in offshore wind globally over the next five years, the UK is expected to attract more than one fifth of global investment.
Offshore wind farms which won contracts to generate clean power in the last clean energy auction (Allocation Round 7) make up a large portion of this capital expenditure, with £30.5bn of investment expected across 8 projects accounting for 8.4GW of new capacity.
The report shows that more than double that capacity - 17.1GW across 20 projects - is eligible to bid in Allocation Round 8 this year, including 232 megawatts of floating wind across 4 projects in UK waters.
RenewableUK’s CEO Tara Singh said:
'Despite tough economic conditions affecting countries and markets around the world, we’re still seeing massive strides forward in global offshore wind capacity year after year, with the UK is maintaining its position at the forefront of this resilient sector.
'We have ambitious plans to scale up further and faster with a huge amount of capacity eligible to bid into this year’s auction for new projects in UK waters. We’re expecting to secure £100 billion in private investment in UK offshore wind over the next five years, which is over a fifth of global investment in that period, showing how attractive the UK market is. This builds on the £100 billion already invested over the past twenty-five years, showing that offshore wind is playing an absolutely crucial role in securing economic growth and energy security, as well as employing 40,000 people in well-paid jobs throughout the UK – and this is set to more than double to 95,000 jobs by 2030'.
The report comes on the eve of RenewableUK’s two-day Global Offshore Wind 2026 conference and exhibition, which opens 16 June at Manchester Central.
More details on our EnergyPulse reports and access to the full interactive database, which is available to RenewableUK members and EnergyPulse subscribers, are available here.
Source: RenewableUK
