The UK is world famous for its wet, windy weather. Flanked by the Atlantic Ocean and the blustery North Sea, with its long coastline and small landmass, fast-moving jet streams and low-pressure systems can quickly engulf much of the country.
And while this does often mean that in the winter you’re far more likely to see the yellow of a weather warning than the sun, it is also precisely these conditions that are responsible for one of Britain’s biggest economic and technological successes of the 21st century.
For much of the past two decades, Britain led the world in offshore wind. It was overtaken in 2021 by China but it is still firmly placed at second and accounts for 20 percent of global offshore wind capacity....