Research and consulting firm Global Data has released a report stating that the UK will still be the world’s leading offshore wind power market in 2025, with its installed capacity representing an impressive Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 30.5%.

The UK accounted for 51.3% of global offshore wind power capacity in 2014. Denmark and Germany were next, with 14.5% and 11.9% shares respectively.

According to Harshavardhan Reddy Nagatham, Global Data’s power analyst, the UK’s and Denmark’s shares are expected to fall to 30.6% and 4.4% respectively by the end of 2025, mainly due to other countries — such as the USA and China — increasing their market presence. Germany’s share will grow to 16.1% by the end of 2025.

Mr Nagatham says: “The UK Government is aiming to achieve 18GW of offshore wind capacity installations by 2020, based on the ‘road-map’ laid out by the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC).

"It is also looking to reduce the generating cost by 30% to £100 per MWhr. Despite the higher costs of offshore wind compared to onshore, the government continues to support the former, with the aim of achieving lower generating costs in the long term.”

The report also shows that the UK has the largest offshore wind resources in Europe, thanks to the North and Irish Seas. Siemens was the leading player in the UK offshore wind market in 2014, boasting a 76.2% share of the total capacity.