Wind turbines: How UK wants to become 'Saudi Arabia of wind'
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he wants the UK to become "the Saudi Arabia of wind" and – off the coast of Yorkshire – the North Sea is now home to the world's largest offshore wind farm.
Danish renewable energy giant Orsted has installed about half of the UK's offshore wind capacity.
The company invited the BBC's chief environment correspondent, Justin Rowlatt, to watch as its thousandth UK wind turbine was erected.
Mr Johnson declared his aims in September 2020. In a speech the next month he predicted the UK wind industry could power every home in the UK by 2030.
Correction 19 January 2022: The text in this video was amended following a complaint to the BBC's Executive Complaints Unit. The ECU found that it was not accurate to suggest that the industry was "now virtually subsidy free" as this did not take into account existing installations.
Clarification 9 July 2024: This article originally stated that wind power was on track to power every home in the UK by 2030. The video and accompanying text have been amended to clarify that this was a prediction made by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a speech in October 2020. We have also added some additional text to the video which explains that experts have disagreed over the feasibility of this aim given the variability of wind power and capacity constraints on energy storage.
