Offshore Wind: The Potential to Contribute a Quarter of UK Electricity by 2024

Abstract

The United Kingdom has very significant wind energy resources. In particular, the winds offshore could supply a major proportion of the nation's electricity requirements. Yet current offshore wind construction projects are progressing slowly. Over the next two decades, it is argued that Britain should adopt a much more ambitious programme to install many thousands of megawatts of offshore generating capacity by means of a public-private partnership, following the successful example of the offshore oil and gas industries of the 1970s and 1980s. By 2024, offshore wind could be contributing some 25% of UK electricity.