A drone view shows the Siemens Gamesa factory, Hull, Britain May 28, 2025.
The UK aims to expand offshore wind capacity to 43-50 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, up from 15 GW today, to decarbonize its electricity sector. A November government report highlighted the difficulty of this goal. Annual auctions provide subsidies to ensure a minimum electricity price, encouraging new projects. The 2024 AR6 auction, with 1.5 billion pounds ($2.03 billion), secured over 5 GW of offshore wind capacity.
“To keep on track with (clean power 2030) targets, we estimate AR7 will need to clear a record 6 GW of offshore wind capacity,” Davidson said. The previous record was 5.46 GW in the 2019 AR3 auction.
Davidson spoke at Siemens Gamesa’s Hull factory in northeast England last week. The facility, part of Siemens Energy, has installed 10 GW of offshore wind turbines across Britain’s coast. Since opening in 2016, the factory employs over 1,400 people, adding 600 workers in the past year as it expanded production.
“The last five years have really proven that when we’ve got that visible pipeline of projects it allows us a greater ability to invest,” Davidson said. The factory is producing 300 blades, each 108 meters, for RWE’s Sofia wind farm and will start blades for Scottish Power’s East Anglia Three this summer.
