Global offshore wind capacity set to hit 100 gigawatts this year – enough to power more than 100 million homes

13 March 2026 - RenewableUK press release

RenewableUK’s latest EnergyPulse Insights offshore wind report predicts that the global offshore wind industry is set to reach a milestone of 100 gigawatts of operational capacity this year - enough to meet the needs of over 100 million UK homes a year.
The report shows that we now have 374 offshore wind farms operating around the world, up from 347 twelve months ago. Global offshore wind capacity has increased by 8% over the last 12 months, from 82.5GW to 89.2GW fully operational (an increase of 6.7GW).

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

The vast global offshore wind pipeline now stands at 1,565 projects at every stage of development, with a capacity of 1,157GW 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 236GW could be operational worldwide by the end of 2030 – more than two and a half times as much global capacity as we have 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 14.8GW to 16.1GW (an increase of 1.3GW) over the last 12 months, with the number of completed wind farms rising from 43 to 45. A further 11.5GW 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 (91.9GW).

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 16.8GW 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:

Commenting on the report, 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 gigawatts 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 gigawatts of new capacity. More than twice that amount of capacity is eligible to compete in the next clean power auction later this year (16.9GW) so we’re urging the Government to aim high when it sets the parameters for the next allocation round in the months ahead”.

More details on our EnergyPulse reports and access to the full interactive database, which is available to RenewableUK members and EnergyPulse subscribers, are available here.

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Notes

For further information, contact

Robert Norris, Head of Communications
07969 229 913 | Robert.Norris@RenewableUK.com

• RenewableUK is the voice of the UK’s renewable energy industry. Representing close to 500 companies spanning the full supply chain, our members develop, operate and maintain the UK's wind, tidal, storage and flexibility infrastructure. By connecting industry and policy makers, we strengthen the UK’s global leadership in renewables, building a secure, affordable and sustainable energy future.


• RenewableUK’s events programme is available here.


• 100GW of offshore wind generates 127.39TWh per year, given a load factor of 38.14%. An average UK EV consumes up to 3MWh (3,000kWh) per year based on typical mileage and efficiency. 127,390,000MWh/3MWh = 42.4 million EVs

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