Sector now powers millions of homes and supports 40,000 jobs

THE UK today (Dec 8) marks a significant milestone: 25 years since the country’s first offshore wind farm began generating electricity. Blyth Offshore Wind Farm, built off the Northumberland coast in 2000, consisted of just two turbines producing four megawatts of power — enough for three thousand homes — and laid the foundations for what has become one of the UK’s most important energy industries.

In the space of a single generation, offshore wind has grown into the UK’s largest source of clean electricity. In 2024 it provided more than thirty-four per cent of all renewable power and generated a record seventeen per cent of the UK’s electricity overall, totalling 48.5 terawatt hours. The current fleet has a combined capacity equivalent to five large nuclear power stations.

Across UK waters, 2,878 turbines are now in operation — ten floating and 2,868 fixed — with a total generating capacity of 16.1 gigawatts. That is enough to power more than sixteen million homes each year. Industry estimates suggest that, without this development, the UK would have had to burn an additional twenty million tonnes of gas over the past twenty-five years, producing more than sixty million tonnes of CO₂.

The sector’s growth has also reshaped the economy. Nearly two thousand companies now operate within the UK wind supply chain, including one hundred and sixty factories. Their combined activity is forecast to contribute £18.2bn to the UK economy over the next decade. Around forty thousand jobs are currently supported by offshore wind — a figure projected to rise to ninety-four thousand by 2030.

Construction is accelerating. More than 7.5GW of new offshore wind is already being built and is due to become fully operational within the next two years, with a further 22GW consented through to 2033.

‘Britain is once again leading the world in clean power’

Energy Minister Michael Shanks MP said: “Twenty-five years after the first offshore wind turbines began to turn, Britain is once again leading the world in clean homegrown power. Offshore wind is at the heart of our 2030 mission – helping us reduce our dependence on volatile fossil fuel markets, lower bills for good, and support one hundred thousand jobs by 2030.”

RenewableUK’s Deputy Chief Executive Jane Cooper said the sector’s progress had brought “jobs, investment, energy security, and environmental benefits in equal measure,” adding that next month’s clean power auction could secure a record amount of new offshore capacity. “A consistent pipeline of projects is vital to trigger new investment in factories and supply chain companies,” she said.

Julia Rose, Head of Offshore Wind at The Crown Estate, said the UK’s first 25 years demonstrated “the transformative power of collaboration and strategic vision,” noting that 45 operational wind farms are now in UK waters with a 95GW development pipeline. The Crown Estate plans to bring a further 20–30GW of new leasing opportunities to market by 2030.

Ed Daniels, CEO of Venterra Group, highlighted the role of the UK’s supply chain: “Offshore wind’s success has created tens of thousands of skilled jobs, rejuvenated coastal communities and established the UK as a global exporter of expertise. Continued investment is essential to deliver economic growth and energy security over the next twenty-five years.”

PLANNERS have refused a Pembrokeshire ‘battery box’ electricity storage unit near a Pembrokeshire town school, which has seen local objections including fears of a potential risk to nearby school children.

In an application recommended for approval at the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee, AMP Clean Energy sought permission for a micro energy storage project on land at Fishguard Leisure Centre Car Park, near Ysgol Bro Gwaun.

The application had previously been recommended for approval at the November meeting, but a decision was deferred pending a site visit.

The scheme is one of a number of similar applications by AMP, either registered or approved under delegated planning powers by officers.

The battery boxes import electricity from the local electricity network when demand for electricity is low or when there are high levels of renewable energy available, exporting it back during periods of high demand to help address grid reliability issues; each giving the potential to power 200 homes for four hours.

The Fishguard scheme, which has seen objections from the town council and members of the public, was before committee at the request of the local member, Cllr Pat Davies.

Fishguard and Goodwick Town Council objected to the proposal on grounds including visual impact, and the location being near the school.

An officer report said the scheme would be well screened by a Paladin Fence, with a need to be sited close to an existing substation.

Speaking at the December meeting, Ben Wallace of AMP Clean Energy conceded the boxes were “not things of beauty” before addressing previously raised concerns of any potential fire risk, saying that “in the incredibly unlikely” event of a fire, the system would contain it for up to two hours, giving “plenty of time” for it to be extinguished, an alarm immediately sounding, with the fire service raising no concerns.

“These are fundamentally safe, the technology is not new,” he said, comparing them to such batteries in phones and laptops.

One of the three objectors at the meeting raised concerns of the proximity to homes and the school, describing it as “an unsafe, unsustainable and unnecessary location,” with Cllr Jim Morgan of Fishguard Town Council, who had previously raised concerns of the “nightmare scenario” of a fire as children were leaving the school, also voicing similar issues.

Local county councillor Pat Davies, who had spoken at the previous meeting stressing she was not against the technology, just the location and the potential risk to pupils, said the siting would be “a visual intrusion,” with the school having many concerns about the scheme, adding it had been “brought forward without any dialogue of consultation with the school”.

Cllr Davies added: “It is unacceptable that a micro-storage unit should be proposed in this area; someone somewhere has got it wrong.”

Following a lengthy debate, committee chair Cllr Mark Carter proposed going against officers in refusing the scheme; members unanimously refusing the application.

AN APPLICATION for a wind turbine nearly 250 foot high on the road to Tenby, recommended to be turned down due to a lack of information on how it could affect bats, has been put on hold.

In an application recommended for refusal at the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee, Constantine Wind Energy Ltd sought permission for a 76-metre-high wind turbine at Summerton Farm, Sageston.

Back in 2024, an application to replace a current 60.5m high turbine on the site with one up to 90 metres, or just under 300 foot, at the site was refused on the grounds its height and scale would have a detrimental impact on the visual amenity of the locality, with the additional clause of failing to comply with supplementary guidance.

A report for committee members on the latest application says the smaller turbine than previously proposed, representing a 16-metre increase in height from a previously granted turbine “would not be sufficient for it to become an overbearing feature in the landscape,” with no objections from either the Council Landscape Officer or Natural Resources Wales.

However, concerns were raised by the council ecologist that the applicant’s Preliminary Ecological Appraisal Report was incomplete.

“The Council Ecologist questions why the response received in relation to myotis bat records were not included within the initial PEA.  As such, he considers that the PEA does not present enough information on the possible presence of bats within the application site area.

“Whilst there may be negligible foraging and commuting potential, there are records of foraging on grassland within two kilometres which have positive identification of myotis bat foraging, along with greater and lesser horseshoe bat foraging.  He also notes that the application site is in close proximity to a wooded area.”

It was recommended for refusal on the grounds that appraisal report, and technical note, “do not adequately address the impact of the proposed wind turbine on bat activity in the area”.

At the committee meeting, members heard the scheme had been temporarily withdrawn to deal with issues raised, the application expected to return to a future meeting.