UK wind sector buoyed by best performance in six years
Last updated: 13:00 24 Jun 2025 BST, First published: 12:47 24 Jun 2025 BST
Last month provided some tailwinds for assets owned by Greencoat UK Wind PLC (LSE:UKW) and others in the renewables sector, according to research from UBS.
Generation from turbines rebounded sharply during the month, with output from major assets rising 42% year on year to 4.4 terawatt-hours, according to the Swiss bank.
The increase, driven by stronger wind speeds and improved capacity factors, marked the best May performance in six years and helped lift the 12-month moving average after a period of weakness.
The investment bank said capacity factors were around 23% above the five-year average for the month, leading to sizeable output gains for the sector’s largest operators.
SSE PLC (LSE:SSE) reported a 65% increase in wind generation compared with the same month last year, Iberdrola rose 56%, RWE 36%, and Ørsted 26%, with the latter likely rebounding from an outage at Hornsea One in 2024.
For UKW, the past month has seen the shares (up 1.25% on Tuesday) push away from their 2025 lows to trade 7% higher.
That said, they are still off around the same quantum year-to-date.
Asset owners are grappling with broader industry pressures, including weak auction participation, inflation-linked cost increases and uncertainty around the UK’s 2030 offshore wind targets.
