UK reaches landmark billion watts

The milestone firmly makes the UK world leader in terms of the amount of offshore wind farms built off the coast.

There are now 11 wind farms around the coast of Britain, made up of 336 giant turbines.

The installed capacity is 1.041 gigawatts, which green energy association RenewableUK calculated is enough to power 700,000 homes.

Eon announced this week its 180-megawatt Robin Rigg wind farm in the Solway Firth was up and running. The project, which uses 60 turbines, is the largest wind farm yet to be built off the British coast.

Robin Rigg is also the first wind farm off Scotland, apart from a two-turbine demonstrator project in the Moray Firth.

However, 12 more offshore wind farms are planned for the seas around Scotland, using more than 1,000 turbines, and it has been estimated the sector could create 20,000 jobs in the next decade.

Denmark, with the second-highest installed capacity of offshore wind, is trailing the UK with about 0.6 gigawatts. Around the UK, there are 40 gigawatts of offshore wind farms in the pipeline, which industry experts say would be sufficient to provide most of the country's electricity.

Some four gigawatts are currently in construction or have planning consent.

Maria McCaffery, RenewableUK chief executive, said: "The UK offshore wind industry has come of age. In the last ten years, we have built a brand new, world-leading industry sector that will create long-term value for this country."

She added that in the first quarter of this year alone, half a billion pounds of private investment had been invested directly into offshore wind in the UK.

"The opportunity now for this country is to build on this position of global leadership, to develop the industrial and service supply chain to provide the equipment and skills that will embed Britain's competitive advantage in marine renewables," said Ms McCaffery.

Michael Lewis, European renewables managing director at Eon, said: "Meeting the one- gigawatt offshore wind milestone is testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire industry. Offshore wind is a challenging environment in which to work, but the potential benefits it brings through the generation of clean, renewable energy can be clearly seen.

"We're incredibly proud that our own site, Robin Rigg, has helped the UK to meet this high point."

Ed Miliband, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, added: "It is great news that we've reached the 1GW landmark.

"The UK is now the world leader in offshore wind energy generation. We are also set to be a centre of manufacturing for offshore wind."