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    Offshore Wind Turbines

    How many are needed to power the world's major cities?

    Researchers estimate that wind farms have the potential to produce up to 40 times the electricity the world consumes, but still they provide just 4% of the world’s electricity. However improved infrastructure and higher voltage cables have drastically reduced the price for wind power, and it is predicted that by 2040, a third of global power will come from wind and solar.

    Take a look below to see how many offshore wind turbines are needed to power your city:

    • The list is sorted by the percentage of the city area
    • Shaded areas on each map indicate the km2 of offshore wind turbines required to power city
    Offshore wind turbines power major cities

    Methodology

    Energy consumption of each city was calculated using the population of the city and per capita consumption of the country where that city is located, taken from the International Energy Agency. The number of turbines needed was computed as the city's annual energy consumption divided by the amount of power an example turbine can generate in a year. A Siemens high-capacity 8MW turbine SG 8.0-167 DD was used as an example turbine and an assumed offshore wind turbine efficiency of 41% was taken from European Wind Energy Association. Turbine spacing was calculated on the basis of having at least 7 rotor diameters of space between each turbine, as per the UK government recommendation.