Steel industry urges government to choose British in offshore wind expansion

The UK steel industry is urging the government to commit to buying British steel as part of the country’s planned offshore wind boom.

Wind power now accounts for almost a third of UK electricity generation, yet less than 2% of steel used in offshore wind projects over the past five years has come from local mills, according to consultancy Lumen Energy & Environment.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is expected to release a new government steel strategy this spring, which aims to expand the UK’s steel manufacturing capacity and potential against a backdrop of costly decarbonisation pressures. Prioritizing British-produced steel for the UK’s fast-growing offshore wind sector would strengthen local supply chains and deliver wider economic benefits, says UK Steel CEO Gareth Stace.

Demand for UK wind farm steel is expected to reach 1 million tonnes per year on average from 2026 to 2050, peaking at more than 2 million tonnes – a notable jump from the 300,000 tonnes currently used annually. However, most of the future demand will be for steel sheets, which are not produced on a large scale in Britain. Industry leaders say investment in new facilities depends on government policies that favor domestic manufacturing over imports.

Stace stresses that this approach would help reverse the sector’s decline and encourage steelmakers to invest, while also recognizing the value of maintaining such large-scale spending within the UK. Ministers have called for British steel to be considered a “default” in public procurement decisions.

The government’s efforts to boost domestic steel include a £2.5 billion support package, some of which has been earmarked for projects such as replacing conventional blast furnaces with electric arc furnaces at plants in Port Talbot and Scunthorpe. However, factories that assemble turbine components in Newcastle and build monopoly units on Teesside still rely on imported steel sheets, highlighting the importance of a coherent industrial strategy that strengthens UK capacity.