Editing Wind power (section)

=== Offshore wind power ===
{{multiple image |total_width=500
|image1=Agucadoura WindFloat Prototype.jpg | caption1= The world's second full-scale [[floating wind turbine]] (and first to be installed without the use of heavy-lift vessels), WindFloat, operating at rated capacity (2&nbsp; MW) approximately 5&nbsp; km offshore of [[Póvoa de Varzim]], Portugal

|image2= 20210830 Windfarm power generation capacity - offshore capacity, and total needed.svg| caption2= Offshore windfarms, including floating windfarms, provide a small but growing fraction of total windfarm power generation. Such power generation capacity must grow substantially to help meet the [[International Energy Agency|IEA]]'s [[Carbon neutrality|Net Zero]] by 2050 pathway to combat [[climate change]].<ref name=Guardian_20210829>{{cite news |last1=Rosa-Aquino |first1=Paola |title=Floating wind turbines could open up vast ocean tracts for renewable power |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/29/floating-wind-turbines-ocean-renewable-power |work=The Guardian |date=29 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830162300/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/29/floating-wind-turbines-ocean-renewable-power |archive-date=30 August 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}
{{Main|Offshore wind power|List of offshore wind farms}}

Offshore wind power is wind farms in large bodies of water, usually the sea. These installations can use the more frequent and powerful winds that are available in these locations and have less visual impact on the landscape than land-based projects. However, the construction and maintenance costs are considerably higher.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.renewables-info.com/drawbacks_and_benefits/offshore_wind_power_%E2%80%93_advantages_and_disadvantages.html|title=Offshore wind power&nbsp;– Advantages and disadvantages|last=Hulazan|first=Ned|date=16 February 2011|publisher=Renewable Energy Articles|access-date=9 April 2012|archive-date=13 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013053638/http://www.renewables-info.com/drawbacks_and_benefits/offshore_wind_power_%E2%80%93_advantages_and_disadvantages.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.windpowermonthly.com/go/europe/news/1021043/Cutting-cost-offshore-wind-energy/|title=Cutting the cost of offshore wind energy|last=Millborrow|first=David|date=6 August 2010|website=Wind Power Monthly|publisher=Haymarket|access-date=10 April 2012|archive-date=2 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202035902/http://www.windpowermonthly.com/go/europe/news/1021043/Cutting-cost-offshore-wind-energy/|url-status=live}}</ref>

As of November 2021, the [[Hornsea Wind Farm]] in the [[United Kingdom]] is the largest offshore wind farm in the world at 1,218 [[Megawatt|MW]].<ref name="hornsea">{{Cite web|date=2020-01-30|title=World's Largest Offshore Wind Farm Fully Up and Running|url=https://www.offshorewind.biz/2020/01/30/worlds-largest-offshore-wind-farm-fully-up-and-running/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131051635/https://www.offshorewind.biz/2020/01/30/worlds-largest-offshore-wind-farm-fully-up-and-running/|archive-date=31 January 2020|access-date=2020-02-03|website=Offshore Wind|language=en-US}}</ref>