RenewableUK: Global offshore wind capacity set to hit 100 GW this year

The report shows that the UK now has 374 offshore wind farms operating around the world, up from 347 one year ago. Global offshore wind capacity has increased by 8% over the last 12 months, from 82.5 GW to 89.2 GW fully operational (an increase of 6.7 GW).

2025 was the fourth biggest year of delivery of offshore wind capacity on record (8.8 GW) and the report forecasts that 18.8 GW could be delivered in 2026 with projects completing in China, the UK, Germany, the USA, Taiwan, Poland and elsewhere.

The vast global offshore wind pipeline now stands at 1565 projects at every stage of development, with a capacity of 1157 GW in 49 markets. This includes projects which are operational, under construction, consented, submitted into the planning system and at an early stage of development.

Looking ahead, the report forecasts that 236 GW could be operational worldwide by the end of 2030 – more than 2.5 times as much global capacity as there is today.

671 offshore wind projects are expected to be fully operational by 2030, which is likely to outstrip the number of nuclear power stations worldwide which currently stands at 416 according to the International Atomic Energy Authority.

In the UK, operational capacity has risen from 14.8 GW to 16.1 GW (an increase of 1.3 GW) over the last 12 months, with the number of completed wind farms rising from 43 to 45. A further 11.5 GW are under construction, showing that there will be a surge in new capacity over the next two years. In total, the UK has 127 UK projects at any stage of development (91.9 GW).

84% of offshore wind capacity which went operational over the last 12 months was in two markets: China and the UK, which still dominate the global portfolio.

£39 billion of capital investment was committed worldwide across 16.8 GW of financial investment decisions in offshore wind projects over the last year, according to the report. It also notes that capital investment in UK offshore wind projects awarded contracts in the government’s latest auction for new capacity (Allocation Round 7) could reach £31.5 billion.

The report shows that China and the UK are also world leaders in the global offshore wind project pipeline with projects at every stage of development.

RenewableUK’s Chief Executive, Tara Singh, said: “Our latest EnergyPulse report highlights the extraordinary growth of the global offshore wind industry as we approach the milestone of 100 GW of clean power capacity – that will be enough to power more than 40 million EVs for a year.

“A significant level of private investment has gone into new offshore wind projects worldwide over the last twelve months, with final investment decisions worth nearly £40 billion across 38 offshore wind farms, demonstrating the huge contribution the industry is making to global economic growth.

“The UK retains its position as a world leader in offshore wind and in January we secured a record-breaking 8.4 GW of new capacity. More than twice that amount of capacity is eligible to compete in the next clean power auction later this year (16.9 GW) so we’re urging the government to aim high when it sets the parameters for the next allocation round in the months ahead.”

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