New statistics released by the UK government show that Britain’s wind farms set new annual electricity generation records in 2022. The figures, published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, reveal that wind generated nearly a quarter of the UK’s electricity last year (24.6%, 80.2 TWh), up from 21% (64.7 TWh) in 2021, and an all-time annual high.

Offshore wind provided a record 13.8% of the UK’s electrical energy (45.0 TWh), up from 11.5% (35.5 TWh) in 2021. Onshore wind also generated a record annual amount of electricity (35.1 TWh), providing 10.8%. The growth in offshore wind generation was driven by the addition of 3193 megawatts of new turbines in British waters last year, while just 318 MW of new onshore wind was added, mainly owing to planning barriers for onshore wind.

Renewables overall produced 41.4% (134.8 TWh) of the UK’s electricity. Low carbon sources (renewables and nuclear together) generated a record 56%.