Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans she has in place to develop UK offshore wind generation capacity that meets net zero emissions targets and protects internationally important marine species and habitats.

We acknowledge the role of offshore wind in achieving the net zero target. We have provided more support for offshore wind than any other country in the world, helping us to reach record levels of renewable electricity generation in 2019. The UK accounts for around one third of world’s offshore wind capacity and has the world’s largest offshore wind market with 9.8GW of installed capacity which is expected to rise to 14GW by 2023 and 19.5GW by 2026.

We know that our European neighbours will also be deploying more offshore wind in shared sea spaces such as the North Sea. This continued pace of deployment drives the need to better understand the cumulative impacts. We are collaboratively working with the sector and wider stakeholders to address strategic deployment issues including cumulative environmental impacts on marine species and habitats.