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| The 15 Largest Offshore Wind Farms in the World (2024) |
Summary
The UK's Dogger Bank offshore wind farm, the 1.4 GW Hornsea 2, the Netherlands' Borselle, and Taiwan's larger Changhua top the list, highlighting international commitments.
In summary, the top 15 offshore wind farms are groundbreaking examples of green technologies that drive global renewable energy goals, reduce carbon footprints, create jobs, and support energy independence.
1. Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farm (United Kingdom)
Consisting of 277 turbines with a combined capacity of 3.6 GW, the Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farm stands as the largest offshore wind farm in the world. The farm is divided into three tiers ⸺ Dogger Bank A, B, and C ⸺ each with a capacity of 1.2 GW ⸺ located 130 to 190 km off the northeast coast of England at the nearest point.
The firm can supply renewable energy to six million UK homes annually. It is a multi-billion pound investment, and ownership of the Dogger Bank wind farm is split between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%), and Vergran (20%).
1. 2. Hornsea 2 Offshore Wind Farm (United Kingdom)
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As of 2024, Hornsea 2, with a remarkable capacity of 1.4 GW, ranks as the world's largest offshore wind farm. The wind farm is located 89 km off the Yorkshire coast in the North Sea, next to Hornsea 1, and 55 miles east of Grimsby Port, it produces enough renewable energy to power more than 1 million UK homes.
A further highlight of the farm, Hornsea 2 has been officially named by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's highest-capacity offshore wind farm, built and operated by Ørsted.
The offshore farm consists of 165 turbines supplied by Siemens Gamesa, each rated at 8 MW, and is Ørsted's 1,000th installed turbine. Overall, the 81-metre-long blades deliver 20 percent more annual output than the Hornsea 1, with a single turbine rotation generating enough electricity to power a UK home in 24 hours. The farm has 380km of export cable - the same distance between Grimsby and Amsterdam.
3. Hornsea 1 Offshore Wind Farm (United Kingdom)
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Hornsea 1 generates enough green energy to power 1 million UK homes with an impressive capacity of 1.2 GW and is the third largest wind farm in the world after Hornsea 2. The farm is one of the UK's 12 operational wind farms, five times the size of Hull or 58,000 times the size of Blundell Park, home of Grimsby Town FC, consisting of 174 turbines, each rated at 7 MW and standing 190 meters tall, a single rotation of a Hornsea 1 turbine is more than a day. It can power a UK home over time. This offshore firm is owned by Danish energy firm Ørsted.
Hornsea 1 is a testament to considerable investment and committed manpower,
with 8000 people contributing to its construction. The billion-dollar
investment ensures safety and adherence to project deadlines in a challenging
climate and plays a leading role in local communities, education, and skills.
The story behind Hornsea Offshore Wind Farm
Hornsea Wind Farm, located in the North Sea about 120
km off the east coast of England, has a total capacity of 6 gigawatts (GW) and is divided into several subzones. Hornsea 1, with a capacity of 1.2 gigawatts,
received planning consent in 2014 and became fully operational in December
2019. Hornsea 2, with a capacity of 1.4 gigawatts, was commissioned in 2016 and
is the world's largest offshore wind farm. The third region is divided into two
projects: Hornsea 3, with a capacity of 1-2 GW, and Hornsea 4, with a capacity
of 1 GW. These two projects in the 3rd zone are expected to come online in 2027
and 2030.
Ørsted supports a strong UK supply chain, an ambitious partnership with the UK
government that targets 50 GW of offshore wind by 2030.
4. Borssele Offshore Wind Farm (Netherlands)
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As of
2024, Borssele Offshore Wind Farm ranks as the fourth-largest Offshore Wind Farm
in the world in terms of capacity and the largest in the Netherlands. Borssele
Offshore Wind Zone, consisting of 5 sites and 3 farms, with an impressive
capacity of 1502.5 MW, is located in the Dutch sector of the North Sea.
Borssele I & II have a total capacity of 752 MW, featuring 94 Siemens
Gamesa turbines, each with an 8 MW capacity, spanning 112 km2. This farm is
developed by Ørsted with 14-34 water depths, able to supply power to one
million homes.
Borssele III & IV, with a total capacity of 731,5 MW, consists of 77 Vestas
V164 turbines, each with a 9.5 MW capacity. These sides were developed by
Blauwwind II, a consortium of Shell, Van Oord, Eneco, and Mitsubishi.
Borssele V has a capacity of 19 MW and consists of two Vestas V164 9.5 MW wind
turbines, generating sufficient energy to provide clean power to around 25,000
Dutch households. The wind farm was developed by Two Towers, a consortium of
Van Oord Renewable Finance, Investri Offshore, and Green Giraffe Holding.
5. The Hollandse Kust Zuid Wind Farm (Netherlands)
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The ownership of these projects is divided among Vattenfall, BASF, and Allianz, with stakes of 25.3%, 49.5%, and 25.2%, respectively. This wind farm features 139 Siemens Gamesa 11.0-200 DD wind turbines, each with a capacity of 11 MW, capable of supplying clean electricity to approximately 1.5 million homes in the Netherlands.
The Hollandse Kust Zuid Wind Farm is on the track of the Dutch government’s aim to generate 70% energy from renewable sources by 2030 and to produce 21 GW Offshore wind power by 2030.
6. Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm (Scotland)
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The Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm is located around 27km from the coast of Angus in the North Sea, with a total generation capacity of 1,075MW. It provides enough renewable energy to power more than 1.6 million Scottish homes — equivalent to two-thirds country’s population, is Scotland's largest Offshore Wind Farm — and ranks the fourth largest Offshore Wind Farm in the world (as of 2024).
The ownership of Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm is shared among SSE Renewables 49%, TotalEnergies 25.5%, and PTTEP 25.5%. SSE Renewable held the development and construction of the wind farm, supported by TotalEnergies, and is the operator. This Offshore wind farm helps to reduce 2 million tons of carbon dioxide from electricity generated by fossil fuels annually — comparable to removing over one-third of Scotland’s annual car emissions — making an enormous contribution to Scotland’s net-zero ambition by 2045.
7. Moray East Offshore Wind Farm (Scotland)
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Moray East, with a capacity of 950 MW, is located 22 km from Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The farm consists of three offshore wind farm sites within the Moray East site, namely the Telford, Stevenson, and McCall wind farms. Moray is the first of two proposed wind farms on the Moray Firth in East Scotland.
The wind farm is operated by Ocean Winds, a joint venture between ENGIE and EDP Renewables (56.6%), Diamond Green Limited (33.4%), and China Three Gorges (10%). Together, they comprise 100 9.5 MW Vestas turbines covering 295 square kilometers 22 km off the Aberdeenshire coast with turbine hub heights of 105 meters and blade diameters of 164 meters. The wind farm first started generating electricity in June 2021 and reached full production capacity in April 2022.
8. Greater Changhua
1 and 2a Wind Farms
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The Greater Changhua offshore is located nearly 35 to 60 kilometers off the coast of Changhua County, Taiwan, and is capable of producing sufficient renewable energy for around 2.8 million Taiwanese Houses.
The wind farms span four sites in Taiwan Strait, including the Greater Changhua 1 and 2a wind farms, with a combined capacity of 900MW.
A major success for the first two sites of
this wind farm, their profile is Greater Changhua 1, with a capacity of 605.2
MW, covering an area of 108.7 square kilometers and operating in water depths
of 34.4 and 44.1 meters. The second, Greater Changhua 2a, with a capacity
of 294.8 MW, comes online in April 2024, with the latest installation
connecting to the national grid.
The next phases include Greater Changhua 2b and 4 wind farms, with a capacity of 920MW, the Greater Changhua 3 project, with a proposed capacity of 600MW, is under construction.
Greater Changhua 1 and 2a wind farms feature 8MW SG 8.0-167 DD
offshore wind
turbines with a 167m rotor diameter, a
swept area of 21,900 square kilometers, and 81.4 meter-long SGRE B81 blades.
It contains two offshore high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) transformer platforms and two onshore HVAC substations. In January 2019, Orsted signed a 20-year power-purchase agreement with Taipower to supply electricity generated from the Greater Changhua 1 and 2a wind farms.
9. Triton Knoll (United Kingdom)
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Triton Knoll offshore Wind Farm ranks as the ninth offshore wind farm in the world (2024). with an impressive capacity of 857MW of each piece, located 20 miles off the coast of Lincolnshire and 28 miles off the coast of North Norfolk, UK. The wind farm features 90 MHI Vestas v164-9.5 MW turbines, standing at 164 meters tall. Triton Knoll can generate sufficient electricity to power nearly 935,000 UK homes annually. The ownership of Triton Knoll is shared among RWE 59%, J-Power 25%, and Kansai Electric Power 16%.
10. East Anglia ONE (United Kingdom)
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East Anglia ONE, A £2.5 billion project, with a capacity of 715 MW, located 43km off the Suffolk coast, is a joint venture between ScottishPower Renewables and Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG). This momentous makes it the largest wind farm in Iberdrola's history, and one of the largest Offshore Wind Farm in the world (2024).
The farm features 102 Siemens Gamesa turbines, each with a capacity of 7MW and
standing 167 meters tall, equipped with 75-meter blades, Together, these
turbines generate renewable energy to power the nearly 7000,000 Scottish homes
annually.
East Anglia ONE has a significant impact on the UK supply chain, local economy,
and community. It creates around 100 long-term skilled jobs at the operational
and maintenance base in Lowestoft Port, contributes to reducing carbon
emissions, and plays an extensive part in helping the UK target its Net Zero
target by 2050.
11. Walney Offshore Wind Farm, UK
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The Walney wind farm is situated in the Irish Sea, England, UK, and has a generating capacity of 669 MW, making the world 10 the largest offshore wind farm. Comprising 40 turbines, the three-phase project is capable of producing enough clean energy to supply electricity to one million UK homes a year.
The owner of the Walney Wind Farm is divided among Orsted 50.1%. PGGM 25%, SSE Renewable 25%. It started its operation in 2011, with a capacity of 183.6 MW from 51 Siemens SWT-3.6-107 (3.6 MW) turbines. Walney 2 came outside in 2011, with a capacity of 183.6 MW, with 51 Siemens SWT-3.6-120 turbines at 3.6 MW each. The last phase, the Walney Extension offshore wind farm, has come into operation with a notable capacity of 659 M, which includes 40 MHI-Vestas 8.25 MW & 47 Siemens Gamesa 7 MW turbines.
Walney Wind Farm is Ørsted’s 11th operational offshore wind farm in the UK.
12. London Array Wind Farm (United Kingdom)
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As of September 2018, the London Array Offshore WInd Farm was the world's largest offshore wind farm, and the Walney Extension surpassed it.
This offshore farm is located 20 km off the Kent coast in the outer Thames
estuary, with a capacity of 630 MW, capable of supplying enough clean
electricity to around 584,000 homes in the UK.
The wind farm consists of 40 turbines with a nameplate capacity of 8.25 MW,
equipped with Vestas Offshore Wind V164-8.0.
The London Array consists of 175 turbines, each with a rotor diameter of 120
meters and a capacity of 3.6 MW. The project is managed by RWE and owned,
operated, and maintained by a consortium including RWE, Ørsted, Masdar, and La
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) from the Port of Ramsgate.
13. Kriegers Flak Offshore Wind Farm (Denmark)
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14. Gemini offshore wind farm (Netherlands)
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The Gemini offshore wind farm has a capacity of 600 MW and consists of two sections, located 85 km off the north coast of the Netherlands. It was called the second-largest offshore wind farm in the world after London Array. The farm is a combined 150 Siemens SWT-4.0 turbines, each with a capacity of 4 MW, with the first section north of Ameland and the second section north of Schiermonnikoog.
The Gemini wind farm is being built by a consortium led by Northland Power at
an estimated cost of around €2.8 billion and €3.6 billion in subsidies.
Exceptionality is a turbine with an average wind speed of 10.2 to 10.4 m/s, and
an area average wind speed of 35 kilometers per hour. Gemini can provide
sustainable energy to 900.000 Dutch households and reduce CO₂ emissions by 1.25 million tons per year.
15. Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm (Scotland)
.png "Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm (Scotland)")
The Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm, Another £2.5 billion major renewable energy project in Scotland, with an installed capacity of 588 MW, located 13, 5 km off the Caithness coast in the Outer Moray Firth, North Sea; it was one of the largest offshore wind farms after upon the completion in 2019. This Scottish wind farm features 84 turbines, each standing at 188 meters and generating 7MW power, provided by Siemens Gamesa. Ownership of this project is jointly divided among SSE Renewable, Copenhagen Infrastructure partners, and Red Rock Power Limited. Beatrice can generate enough wind electricity to power approximately 450,000 homes, making it one of Scotland’s prominent single sources of clean energy.
Offshore Wind Farms Drive Global Renewable Energy Goals
As we can see from the above 15 offshore wind projects, the top offshore wind farms are moving ahead of the competition with both the impressive scale and strategic investment needed to accelerate global renewable energy goals.
The Dogger Bank and UK's Hornsea series, with a capacity of 3.6 GW, reflect an
ambitious commitment to clean energy, with a capacity sufficient to power
millions of homes annually.
In Europe, farms such as the Dutch Borselle and the UK's Triton Knoll are
leveraging regional collaboration and innovation in turbine technology,
furthering energy independence and sustainability. The other day, Scotland's
Seagreen and Beatrice farms significantly demonstrated the role of offshore
wind in achieving net-zero emissions of national carbon reduction targets.
Taiwan's Greater Changhua is a novel testament to the expansion of offshore
wind in Asia. Similarly, the innovative efforts of Gemini Farm in the
Netherlands and Kriegers Flak in Denmark to connect energy grids across borders
have surprised the world with their grandeur.
Oersted's outstanding contribution to international investment is noteworthy.
Overall, these offshore wind farms represent a strong shift toward large-scale,
high-capacity renewable energy.
In Closing, as can be seen from the discussion of the mentioned projects, the firms aim not
only to mark technological and infrastructural milestones but also to promote
substantial environmental contributions, such as job creation, supply chain
integration, and significant carbon footprint reduction. Which is playing a
role in achieving the 2030 climate and energy framework Net zero emissions by 2030, and Renewable energy target 2030.
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