10 Year Vision & Strategy for North East England Offshore Wind
Offshore wind: an economic opportunity for the North East and Tees Valley
The UK has an opportunity to secure greater levels of supply chain content to unlock high quality job opportunities in the UK, whilst strengthening long-term capacity of the UK’s offshore wind supply chain. The North East and Tees Valley are strongly placed to increase UK content, utilising its already world-leading supply chain, infrastructure, and skills base.
In March 2026, The Crown Estate announced their intention to launch the Offshore Wind Leasing Round 6 in the first half of 2027. The identified area, off the coast of North East England, could support a capacity of around 6GW, predominantly through fixed-bottom turbines. This provides a strong pipeline for future offshore wind projects and sends a clear signal of confidence in regions like the North East, which already have the skills, ports, and supply chain capacity to lead.
Together the North East Combined Authority and the Tees Valley Combined Authority recognise the importance of offshore wind to creating good quality green jobs, unlocking investment, and driving growth across both areas. Both Combined Authorities have placed offshore wind and clean energy at the heart of their Local Growth Plans and wider strategies. Together the pan-region of the North East and Tees Valley possess the infrastructure, institutions, skills and expertise, supply chains, and shared ambition to ensure we collectively grasp the next generation of offshore wind investment opportunities.
North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness has an ambition to double the number of green jobs to 50,000 by 2035, with offshore wind playing a critical role in driving job creation,
as outlined in the North East Local Growth Plan.
Similarly, the Tees Valley Combined Authority prioritises growing its modern industrial and technology cluster of 17,000 jobs, comprising offshore wind and wider clean energy technologies.
With shared strategic ambitions and alignment, paired with the world-leading offshore wind supply chain at the heart of delivering North Sea offshore wind expansion and projects across the globe, provides the North East and Tees Valley with a once in a generation economic opportunity.
For the first time, we have collectively developed a 10-year vision and strategy with Energi Coast, setting out a plan for the next phase of offshore wind industrialisation in the North East and Tees Valley, outlining the specific interventions to build delivery momentum over the next decade.
