This is according to recent research from RenewableUK’s market intelligence and data tracker EnergyPulse.
The UK has now surpassed 30 gigawatts (GW) of wind generation capacity with the opening of SSE Renewables’ Viking Wind Farm on the Shetland Islands, which added the last 443 megawatts (MW) to the total.
According to the data findings, the UK’s total operational wind capacity, combining onshore and offshore, now stands at 30,299MW. This is sufficient to power more than 26 million homes annually and reduce carbon emissions by more than 35 million tonnes each year.
Additionally, the research highlights that last year renewables provided 46.4% of the UK’s electricity, with wind power contributing 28.1% of the total and more than 60% of the electricity from renewable sources.
RenewableUK’s executive director of policy and engagement Ana Musat said: “It took 26 years to install the first 15GW of wind energy in the UK, so to double that to 30GW in just seven years represents a tremendous success for the industry.
“As the latest record-breaking figures from the Government show, wind is the backbone of our future energy system and a key driver of our transition away from expensive and volatile fossil fuels to become a clean energy superpower.”
Wind capacity grew from 1GW in 2005 to 5GW in 2010, then to 10GW in 2013 and 15GW in early 2017, doubling to 30GW in seven years.
The Viking Wind Farm, which took 15 years to develop with an investment of approximately £1.2bn, has pushed the UK’s wind capacity past the 30-gigawatt milestone.
The farm features 103 turbines and will transmit energy via a 260-kilometer High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) subsea cable. It is projected to be the UK’s most productive onshore wind farm, generating about 1.8 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity each year.
SSE Renewables’ managing director Stephen Wheeler added: “As the largest onshore wind farm to be built in the UK in nearly ten years, the completion of the project [Viking Wind Farm] is a big moment in its own right – and contributing to this [30GW] milestone for the industry makes it even more special.”
Labour Government plans for wind energy
The Labour-led UK Government has set a goal to decarbonise the UK’s power grid by 2030, aiming to increase offshore wind capacity to 60GW and onshore wind to 30GW over the next decade.
Last month, Energy Security and Net-Zero Secretary Ed Miliband confirmed a record £1.5bn budget allocation for the next Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction round to boost renewable energy projects.
Additionally, Miliband and his team have already enacted several other workstreams intended to scale renewable generation, including lifting planning barriers to onshore wind and creating a 2030 ‘Mission Control’ unit to supervise UK’s 2030 clean power strategy.
The Government is also establishing Great British Energy, a new publicly-owned investment firm designed to support clean energy projects that require Government funding but do not qualify for the CfD.
Research from RenewableUK projects that doubling the UK’s onshore wind capacity by the end of the decade could add £45bn to the economy and create 27,000 jobs.
Despite progress, the industry continues to face persisting challenges from grid connection delays and limited capacity.
