The sensitivity analysis showed that the distribution of areas that have high wind energy activity potential changes according to the weights assigned to each factor. Of the 10,714 cells, 180 cells were selected using the weighted MCE model and 161 cells using the equally-weighted MCE model. Overlaying both rasters showed that both models shared 114 cells. Due to the fact that the cells are in a geographic coordinate system (using angular units), and not a projected coordinate system, it would be unwise to calculate a total area since the true (estimated) area would differ significantly. Nevertheless, it can be seen from Figure 17 that most of the potential/suitable sites can be found in the Atlantic Ocean, off the Western Isles (north-west Scotland), and near the north-western (Irish Sea) and eastern (North Sea) coast of England.

The difference in weights caused a visible change in distribution and the number of cells selected because of the decreased importance set on depth values (the bathymetric raster), and the increased importance placed on wind speed and distance from the shoreline. Ultimately, these sites should not be considered as sites in which to build new wind farms, rather, they should be considered as sites worthy of future smaller (finer) scale analyses, in order to try and include other constraints and factors, such as biodiversity (mainly bird densities), fishing, marine transport, as well as soil and geology. This would then allow for informed decisions to be made on whether these sites can be used for future renewable energy generation.