Renewable sources of energy are of increasing interest in the UK due to the ever-growing energy demand and also due to the need for energy security as North Sea oil and gas reserves are depleted.

The UK, as many other EU members, has constantly been a net importer of energy, with “net imports of Energy contributing 5.7 per cent of electricity supply” in 2014 (DECC, 2015, p.113) much of which is derived from fossil fuels. Renewable resources, mainly wind energy (both offshore and inland) show great potential in reducing net energy imports due to the fact that they would be a local energy source. Compared to previous years, in 2014, the contribution of renewable resources to electricity generation has grown to a record-high of 19.1% mainly due to the increased capacity (DECC, 2015). Offshore wind generation increased by 17% in 2014 compared to 2013; an increase from 11,472 GWh to 13,404 GWh, due to an increase in capacity of 22% (DECC, 2015).

Although it less economically feasible, Europe as a whole has been increasing its offshore wind power generation capacity year-by-year, caused mainly by the ongoing advances in wind turbine structures and foundations, allowing for offshore wind energy generation farther from the coast and at greater depths. For example; the average distance from the coast increased from 23.4km to 43.3km between 2011 and 2015. Additionally, the average water depth for wind turbines increased from 22.8m in 2011 to 27.1m in 2015 (EWEA, 2012; EWEA, 2016). In 2013, the European Wind Energy Association projected that by 2050 offshore wind sources could provide 1,813 TWh and that wind as a whole could provide 50% of Europe’s power supply (EWEA, 2013).

Due to the fact that the UK receives very strong annual winds, the potential for enhanced offshore wind power generation is very high, and this project aims to find areas around the UK coast which could be subjected to further analysis in order to determine the possibility of them being used for offshore wind energy generation.