World’s largest windfarm goes online in UK waters

The 1.3GW Hornsea Two site is a significant step forward for Britain’s carbon neutral goals, although questions remain over Westminster’s commitment.

Renewable energy specialist Ørsted has this week confirmed the world’s largest wind farm is now fully operational, with windmills generating power for the UK’s national grid off the coast of Yorkshire. 

Combined, Hornsea One and the new Hornsea Two sites can power up to 2.5m UK households, and representing a significant step forward in the country’s aims of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. The facilities also include the biggest offshore substation on the planet, and the overall zone covers 2,000 square kilometres in the North Sea. A further development, Hornsea Three, is also underway, one of five major offshore wind projects that secured a Contract for Difference in July. 

News of Hornsea 2 has understandably been met with a fanfare from government keen to tout environmental credentials, not least given recent polls that suggest the majority of Britons now want climate targets brought forward following record temperatures and ongoing drought conditions that have hit the country this summer. Nevertheless, concerns are also high as to how committed policymakers are. 

The current favourite for new leader of the Conservative Party, and therefore the next Prime Minister, Liz Truss, has been vocal about the need to open up more of the North Sea to fossil fuel exploration to bolster domestic supplies amid the cost of living crisis largely driven by soaring energy costs.

This is despite experts warning that investments in new oil and gas interest would take years to materialise, and the fact such efforts would hinder efforts to meet climate targets set by the government itself. Further to this, earlier this year, climate charity Ashden condemned the UK’s government plans to expand North Sea oil operations. Meanwhile, the most recent independent Climate Change Committee Progress Report showed that current UK policy makes net zero targets impossible to achieve.