Twenty-five years after the first offshore wind farm opened at Blyth, offshore wind now supplies 17% of Britain’s electricity.
New analysis from think tank Ember shows the sector has grown into the country’s second largest power source and now employs around 40,000 people.
“The engineering and innovation in British offshore wind over the last 25 years should be a real point of pride,” said Ember analyst Frankie Mayo. The Blyth project was the first “truly offshore” wind farm when it opened in December 2000 and could power around 3,000 homes.
Britain now has 47 operational offshore wind farms with a combined 16 GW capacity, enough to power more than 16 million homes each year. Of the sector’s 40,000 jobs, 7,000 were added in the last two years.
Modern turbines are far more powerful than those at Blyth. At Moray West, a single turbine generates over three times the output of the entire original Blyth installation.
Ports now underpin the industry’s growth and support construction and maintenance. There are 2,000 UK companies in the wind energy supply chain and major investment is flowing into coastal hubs including Hull, Inverness and Grimsby. Earlier in 2025, the UK government committed £55 million to expand the port at Cromarty Firth for deep water wind projects.
“Investing in offshore wind isn’t just about clean power,” said Mayo. “It’s about new jobs, skills and billions in investment flowing to Britain’s coastal communities.”
Steve Wilson of SSE Renewables said the 3.6 GW Dogger Bank project shows the UK’s leadership in offshore wind execution. Sam Hall of the Conservative Environment Network said Britain has “led the global charge” in the technology. Liberal Democrat spokesperson Pippa Heylings MP added that with the right choices, the UK can “power millions more homes with clean, secure and affordable energy” over the next 25 years.
Offshore wind marks 25 years of growth as it reaches a fifth of power generation appeared first on Energy Live News.