The Thanet wind farm in the English Channel is set to begin production this week. The 100 turbines, each measuring 300 feet in height, will produce enough electricity to power 200,000 homes. This will increase the total UK wind production to 1,314 MW. In contrast, the rest of the world currently harnesses only 1,100 MW total.

So here we are. The UK is now the world’s largest producer of offshore wind. How did the U.S. fall so far behind? There is currently not a single offshore wind turbine in U.S. waters. Meanwhile, this is what the Gulf of Mexico looks like:

Currently, the entire farm takes up an area of about 22 square miles, but Britain has plans to add at least 340 more turbines in the area over the next four years.

“I’m pleased that we’ve reached the point where 5GW of our energy comes from onshore and offshore wind