The UK has reached 30GW of wind generation capacity, following the opening of SSE Renewables’ Viking wind farm. Capacity doubled in the last seven years to reach the 30GW milestone.
The UK’s first commercial onshore wind farm, Delabole in Cornwall, went operational in 1991, and the first offshore wind project off the coast of Blyth in the north east of England began generating in 2000. Wind deployment climbed slowly to 1GW in 2005 and deployment speed increased to reach 15GW in early 2017.
Onshore and offshore wind together provided 28.1% the UK’s electricity in 2023, according to government statistics, while other renewables provided 18.3%.
Viking, on the Shetland Islands, has a capacity of 443MW. It has been in development for around 15 years, at a cost of approximately £1.2bn It will deliver renewable energy to the grid via a 260km High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) subsea cable.
Commenting on the milestone, RenewableUK’s Executive Director of Policy & 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.” She added,

Stephen Wheeler, Managing Director of SSE Renewables, added:“Reaching 30GW is a great achievement, and SSE Renewables is proud to account for over 10% of that total across our onshore and offshore wind portfolio. It’s clear, however, that we need to go faster if we’re to have a chance of delivering a zero-carbon energy system by the end of this decade, and we stand ready to play our part in hitting many more milestones in years to come.”