New Report Warns UK Risks Repeating Industrialisation Mistakes with Offshore Wind Developments
A new report from Rewilding Britain has highlighted the potential risks of the UK’s upcoming offshore wind expansion. The report, released on Wednesday 8 July, 2026, warns that unless communities and nature are placed at the heart of plans, the country may repeat the mistakes of previous phases of industrialisation.
With the global demand for renewable energy increasing, the UK is set to play a significant role in meeting climate goals. However, the report states that offshore wind developments must be built with a focus on ensuring that coastal communities and marine nature share in the benefits, rather than facing negative impacts.
The report presents practical solutions to ensure that Britain’s offshore wind growth delivers positive impacts for both coastal communities and nature. It highlights three key solutions: integrating marine rewilding into development plans, creating stronger community ownership and investment, and using a co-design approach to plan offshore wind around people and nature together.
Kevin Cumming, Rewilding Director at Rewilding Britain, stresses the importance of collaboration between government, industry, fisheries, coastal communities, and marine restoration practitioners in creating a new approach to offshore wind development. He states, “It’s vital that clean energy projects support nature recovery, with marine restoration creating new jobs, boosting biodiversity, and ensuring coastal communities have a genuine stake in the future of their seas. We must make offshore wind part of the solution, not simply repeat the mistakes of the past.”
The report highlights the staggering scale of offshore wind expansion, with an estimated 2,000GW of capacity needing to be installed globally by 2050. This translates to roughly 5,000 new turbines every year, collectively occupying more than 500,000km² of ocean. The decisions made today will have long-lasting impacts on our seas for generations, making it imperative to consider the potential consequences.
The report also highlights the current state of marine ecosystems, which are already under immense pressure. The UK has lost up to 92% of its seagrass meadows and 95% of its native oyster reefs, while marine wildlife vertebrate populations have declined by more than half over the last 50 years. The recovery of these ecosystems and species is vital for wildlife, resilient coastal communities, sustainable fisheries, climate resilience, and the long-term health of Britain’s seas.
The report emphasizes the need for a new approach to offshore wind development and cites the recently approved Berwick Bank project as an example. The development has faced significant opposition due to its predicted impacts on seabird populations, with an estimated 4,000 birds expected to be killed in its first year alone. There are also concerns from communities and fishers, as well as potential negative consequences for tourism and local economies.
Furthermore, the report highlights the issue of economic benefits leaking abroad, with only 30% of expenditure from the construction of offshore wind turbines remaining in the UK. This means that local communities miss out on vital supply chain jobs.
However, the report also suggests that marine rewilding and offshore wind do not have to be competing objectives. By integrating marine restoration and rewilding into project design and planning from the outset, the sector could become a catalyst for large-scale recovery of marine habitats and species, as well as coastal community and economic regeneration.
The full research report, titled “Rewilding our waters in an era of offshore wind,” can be found on Rewilding Britain’s website.
