A wind farm or wind park, or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an extensive area. Wind farms can be either onshore or offshore.
The Thanet Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm 7 miles (11 km) off the coast of Thanet district in Kent, England. On commissioning it was the world's largest offshore wind farm. It has a nameplate capacity of 300 MW and it cost £780–900 million (US$1.2–1.4 billion). Thanet is one of fifteen Round 2 wind projects announced by the Crown Estate in January 2004 but the first to be developed. It was officially opened on 23 September 2010, when it overtook Horns Rev 2 as the biggest offshore wind farm in the world. It has since been overtaken by many others.
Offshore Windpark Egmond aan Zee (OWEZ) is an offshore wind farm in the Dutch part of the North Sea, located approximately 10 km from the coast near Egmond aan Zee. It was the first large-scale offshore wind farm to be built off the Dutch North Sea coast. The wind farm was built by NoordzeeWind, a joint venture consisting of Shell and Nuon.
Wind power in Finland has been the fastest growing source of electricity in recent years. In 2023, Finland covered 18.2% of the yearly electricity demand with wind power production, which was 18.5% of the domestic production. Wind capacity was up 1.3 GW from the previous year and wind production up 25%. This compares to an average wind power share of 19% in the EU.
Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per amount of capacity installed. Offshore wind farms are also less controversial than those on land, as they have less impact on people and the landscape.
As of May 2024, wind power in the Netherlands has an installed capacity of 11,611 MW, 40.9% of which is based offshore. In 2022, the wind turbines provided the country with 18.37% of its electricity demand during the year. Windmills have historically played a major part in the Netherlands by providing an alternative to water driven mills.
The Ormonde Wind Farm is a wind farm west of Barrow-in-Furness in the Irish Sea. The wind farm covers an area of 8.7 square kilometres (3.4 sq mi). It has a total capacity of 150 MW and is expected to produce around 500 GWh of electricity per year.
Walney Wind Farms are a group of offshore wind farms 9 miles (14 km) west of Walney Island off the coast of Cumbria, England, in the Irish Sea. The group, operated by Ørsted, consists of Walney Phase 1, Phase 2 and the Walney Extension. The extension has a capacity of 659 MW and it was the world's second largest offshore wind farm in 2018.
Trianel Windpark Borkum is an offshore wind farm near Borkum. Its first phase of 40 turbines rated at a total capacity of 200 MW is operational, with a planned, additional 200 MW in a second phase. The project was approved for construction in 2008 and will cost over €1 billion to construct once fully operational. Originally known as Borkum West II the name was changed to Trianel Windpark Borkum in early 2013.
The East Anglia Array is a proposed series of offshore wind farms located around 30 miles off the east coast of East Anglia, in the North Sea, England. It has begun with the currently operational East Anglia ONE, that has been developed in partnership by ScottishPower Renewables and Vattenfall. Up to six individual projects could be set up in the area with a maximum capacity of up to 7.2 GW. The first project, East Anglia ONE at 714 MW, received planning consent in June 2014 and contracts in April 2016. Offshore construction began in 2018 and the project was commissioned in July 2020. It is expected to cost £2.5 billion.
Kriegers Flak is a 605 MW offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea on the Danish part of the reef of the same name. It forms part of a new 400 MW interconnector between Denmark and Germany.
Horns Rev is an offshore wind farm in Danish waters in the North Sea.
Luchterduinen is an offshore wind farm in the North Sea, 23 kilometres off the coast near Noordwijk aan Zee. The farm was developed by Eneco and has been fully operational since September 2015.
Borssele Offshore Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm in the Dutch part of the North Sea, named for Borssele, near the border with Belgium. The offshore area consists of 5 sites and 3 farms so far with a total capacity of 1502.5 MW.
Hollandse Kust Noord Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm in the Dutch part of the North sea. The wind farm zone consists of a single site. The farm will consist of 69 wind turbines with a capacity of 11 MW each and will have a total output of 759 MW.
Hollandse Kust West Wind Farm is a planned offshore wind farm in the Dutch part of the North Sea. The wind farm consists of 3 sites with a capacity of around 700 MW each. The farm is located around 53 km off of the Dutch coast. it is the third offshore wind farm in the Netherlands after the Hollandse Kust Zuid and Hollandse Kust Noord wind farms to be built without subsidies.
