When offshore wind was first proposed in the UK, it was thought to be a good thing because load factors would be higher than they are onshore – perhaps as high as 37%. Well, experience has beaten that by a considerable margin – see the lifetime load factors below. It’s been good news for generators, less so for politicians seeing per-MWh support payments mount. It’s likely to continue to outperform, but a more granular view would show plenty of variation within that, and in some years or months the average will be far lower.