Renewables facts
Wind power
As of the start of 2026 the UK has 31,973 MW of total wind capacity.
Offshore Wind
Verified facts and sources relating to UK offshore wind farm capacity, generation, and capital cost.
Installed offshore wind capacity (UK):
The UK has 31,973 MW of total wind capacity.
Source: RenewableUK – UK Wind Energy Database (UKWED)
Offshore wind annual generation
Offshore wind generated 52 TWh in 2025.
This represented 19% of UK electricity supply.
Source: Crown Estate – UK Offshore Wind Report
Capacity factor
45–50% (older farms were 36-42%)
A 1 MW turbine will generate a mean average of 450-500 kW over the course of a year.
Cost structure of offshore wind
CAPEX is the dominant cost component of offshore wind projects.
Providing turbine, foundation, installation, and balance‑of‑plant costs.
Typical CAPEX per GW: £2.2–£3.0 bn
Total cost for ~14 GW: £31–42 bn
Sources: Guide to an Offshore Wind Farm – Wind Farm Costs
GOV.UK – Renewable Energy Generation Cost and Technical Assumptions: Offshore Wind (2025)
On-shore Wind
Onshore wind uses wind turbines installed on land to generate electricity. Turbines are typically located in upland, rural or coastal areas with good wind resources. Onshore wind is one of the lowest‑cost sources of electricity available in the UK.
Installed offshore wind capacity
The UK has:14–15 GW of operational onshore wind capacity
Source: RenewableUK – UKWED
Onshore wind annual generation
~32 TWh per year
Year‑to‑year variation reflects wind conditions, but the long‑term average is stable.
Source: National Grid ESO – UK Generation Mix
Capacity factor
26-30%
A 1 MW turbine will generate a mean average of 260-300 kW over the course of a year.
Typical UK onshore wind capital cost
Cost per GW: £0.9–£1.3 billion per GW.
Total cost for ~15 GW installed is £13.5 billion
Source: DESNZ Cost & Technical Assumptions – Onshore Wind
Wind Power – UK Consumer Benefit Fact Sheet (UCL 2025)
A long‑term modelling study by University College London (UCL) analysed how UK wind power affected electricity and gas prices between 2010 and 2023.
It compares the real world with a counterfactual UK energy system that continued to build gas power stations instead of wind.
Source: UCL wind benefit study
Wind power delivered a net benefit of £104.3 billion to UK consumers over 2010–2023.
This is after subtracting all wind subsidies.
Breakdown of the £104.3 billion net benefit
Lower electricity prices: £14.2 billion saved
Caused by the merit‑order effect: cheap wind displaces expensive gas generation, lowering wholesale prices.
Lower gas prices
£133.3 billion saved
Wind reduced UK gas demand enough to materially lower wholesale gas prices.
Subsidies paid
£43.2 billion
Subtracted from the gross benefit to give the net figure.
UCL notes that the avoided gas demand was larger than the entire loss of Russian pipeline gas during the 2022 crisis.
How much wind generation increased
Wind generation grew from 5 TWh in 2010 to 80 TWh in 2023
This scale‑up is what enabled the large price‑suppressing effect.
Who benefits?
- Electricity consumers paid 100% of wind subsidies, but received only 18% of the financial benefit
- Gas consumers, who pay nothing toward wind investment, receive 82% of the benefit
This is because most of the savings come from reduced gas prices.
Wind farms do not capture the system‑wide savings they create.
UCL argues that wind should be viewed as a public good because:
- It lowers prices for everyone
- It improves energy security
- It reduces exposure to fossil‑fuel volatility
This means the value of wind is much larger than the revenue earned by wind generators.
- Wind power has reduced UK energy bills, not increased them.
- The savings are system‑wide, not limited to electricity.
- The UK’s investment in wind has been a high‑return national investment.
- The study challenges the idea that wind subsidies burden consumers; the opposite is true.
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