Offshore wind has scaled from megawatts to gigawatts in less than two decades. The UK now hosts most of the largest farms on Earth, led by Dogger Bank at 3.6 GW. Here are the 10 biggest offshore wind farms operating or commissioning in 2026—and what comes next.
The Biggest Offshore Wind Farms in 2026
The first offshore wind farm in history—Denmark's Vindeby, 1991—had a total capacity of 4.95 megawatts. Today's largest operating offshore wind farm, Dogger Bank in the UK North Sea, will reach 3,600 megawatts when fully commissioned. That is a 727-fold increase in just over 30 years.
The 2026 ranking is dominated by the United Kingdom. Of the 10 largest offshore wind farms operating or commissioning this year, six sit in British waters. The rest are split between the Netherlands, Germany, and France:
| Rank | Wind Farm | Country | Capacity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dogger Bank Wind Farm | United Kingdom | 3,600 MW | Commissioning |
| 2 | Borssele Wind Farm | Netherlands | 1,500 MW | Operating |
| 3 | Hornsea Two | United Kingdom | 1,386 MW | Operating |
| 4 | Hornsea One | United Kingdom | 1,218 MW | Operating |
| 5 | Changhua Offshore | Taiwan | 900 MW | Operating |
| 6 | Triton Knoll | United Kingdom | 857 MW | Operating |
| 7 | Walney Extension | United Kingdom | 659 MW | Operating |
| 8 | London Array | United Kingdom | 630 MW | Operating |
| 9 | Beatrice Offshore | United Kingdom | 588 MW | Operating |
| 10 | Gode Wind 1 & 2 | Germany | 582 MW | Operating |
Dogger Bank: The Project That Broke the Gigawatt Barrier
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is not really one wind farm—it is three (Dogger Bank A, B, and C), each rated at 1.2 GW, sharing a single name. Located 130 kilometres off the Yorkshire coast in the North Sea, it is the first wind project anywhere in the world to exceed the 3 GW threshold and is being commissioned in stages through 2026.
The project uses GE Haliade-X turbines, each rated at 13–14 megawatts—machines so large that their blade tips travel nearly 250 mph at full speed. One turbine generates roughly the same energy in a year as the entirety of Denmark's original Vindeby wind farm did in two decades.
Why the UK Dominates
The North Sea is the global capital of offshore wind for three structural reasons:
Shallow water. Most of the UK's North Sea exclusive economic zone is under 60 metres deep, allowing fixed-bottom monopile foundations. Floating turbines are still 3–4× more expensive per megawatt.
Steady, strong wind. Average wind speeds at the Dogger Bank are around 10 metres per second—near the optimal range for modern turbines.
The Crown Estate lease regime. The UK seabed is owned by the Crown and leased through a coherent national process. Developers can bid on multi-gigawatt blocks rather than negotiating with hundreds of fragmented landowners.
The Ørsted-led Hornsea complex (Hornsea One, Two, plus the upcoming Three and Four) will eventually exceed 6 GW across the four phases, making it the largest single offshore development on Earth.
What About the United States?
The US has been comparatively late to offshore wind. The first commercial-scale US project, Vineyard Wind 1 off Massachusetts, only began generating power in 2024 at 800 MW. South Fork Wind off Long Island (132 MW) preceded it by a few months. Projects like Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (2,587 MW) and Empire Wind are still under construction, and a number of larger projects were canceled or paused in 2023–2024 due to inflation, supply-chain issues, and policy uncertainty.
None of the operating US offshore wind farms yet rank in the global top 10, but several proposed projects—if completed as planned—would.
What's Coming Next
Floating offshore wind. Hywind Tampen (88 MW) in Norway became the world's largest floating offshore farm in 2023. Floating designs open up the deep waters off California, Japan, and the Atlantic coasts that fixed-bottom turbines cannot reach. The first commercial-scale floating projects above 500 MW are expected in the late 2020s.
Turbines at 20+ MW. Mingyang and Siemens Gamesa have both announced prototype turbines in the 18–22 MW class. Once these are deployed at scale, a single farm of 100 turbines could exceed 2 GW—comparable to a large nuclear plant.
Asia ramps up. China and Taiwan are quickly closing the gap. China alone added more offshore wind capacity in 2021–2023 than the UK has installed across its history. Most Chinese offshore farms remain individually smaller than the top 10 above, but several large complexes are expected to break in by the late 2020s.
See the Full Map
Every wind farm in this article is plotted on StatsPanda's global Power Plant Map. Filter by fuel type "Wind" to see offshore and onshore farms together, or compare wind against nuclear in our global top 10 ranking.
Methodology
Capacities reflect installed nameplate as of early 2026 from the Global Wind Energy Council, Crown Estate offshore lease registry, and operator filings. "Operating" indicates full commercial operation. "Commissioning" indicates phased energization in progress. Onshore wind farms are excluded—see our global power plant ranking for the largest single-site onshore facilities.
