UK's offshore wind provides 50% more power

UK: Offshore wind's electricity generation in the second half of 2013 in the UK increased by more than 50% on the same period last year, the latest energy report from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) shows.

by Ben Miller 26 September 2013

Increased capacity and high winds have boosted offshore wind's contribution to the grid (Photo credit: danxoneil)

In the second quarter of this year offshore wind generated 2.47TWh of electricity, representing a 50.9% increase on last year.

The latest Energy Trends and Quarterly Energy Prices publication shows wind generation increased by 62% in the second quarter of this year compared with last — of which onshore wind generation rose by 70% — due to increased capacity and high wind speeds.

Renewable electricity generation grew by more than 56%, with its share of total electricity generation up to a record 15% from the 10% share in the second quarter of 2013.

More than 82TWh of electricity was generated in the first half of 2013, down 2.7% on the same time last year. Of that 12.83TWh came from renewables, up 55.7% from the 8.2TWh in the second quarter of 2012.