Renew Risk completes pilot windstorm models for offshore wind farms in the UK and Europe 

25 November 2025 - We’re pleased to announce the successful release of our pilot windstorm catastrophe models for offshore wind farms along the UK and European coastlines.

For the insurance industry, the European offshore wind market has long been regarded as relatively predictable and mature, but this should not create the illusion of low risk when it comes to extreme windstorms. At present, a decline in losses is linked to the cyclical decrease in storm count and storm severity¹,². The previous period of high windstorm activity, the 1990s, also skews the perception of extreme windstorm risk to offshore wind farms, given the small number of farms operating at the time, compared to modern day. As Europe enters a more active windstorm phase – paired with the region’s ageing offshore wind infrastructure – it becomes clear: future risk may not be the same as historical risk.  

To combat this uncertainty, our European Windstorm Model (EUWS) and UK & Ireland Windstorm Model (UKWS) provide the level of detail needed for risk management professionals to quantify and manage risk with confidence. Key features include:  

Incorporating considerations unique to offshore environments 

• Advanced wind speed calibrations using at-sea measurements, rather than the industry standard approach which relies on onshore approximations.  

• Extreme wave impacts explicitly captured for increased accuracy. 

• Extensive coverage across the UK and European coastlines, with: 

  • The UK coastline: through the Celtic Sea, Atlantic Ocean and North Sea. 

  • The European coastline: around the Bay of Biscay, Celtic Sea, Atlantic Ocean, North Sea and Baltic Sea. 

Built specifically for offshore wind farm assets 

• Incorporating all on-site assets: turbines, cables, substations (plus all assets scheduled until 2032, pulled from our proprietary Industry Exposure Database). 

• With vulnerability functions such as foundation type, turbine size, cable-protection system etc. 

• Drawing from extensive historical and stochastic datasets and supplemented by physical testing in lab for an engineering-based analysis.  

The successful completion of our pilot models marks a significant milestone in our mission to deliver the next generation of catastrophe modelling for renewable energy.  

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our early adopters and Oasis LMF for their support. If you’d like to learn more about our two new pilot models, or the full production versions (on track for release in Q2 2026) get in touch at info@renew-risk.com. 

References  

[1] Cusack, S. A 101-year record of windstorms in the Netherlands. Climatic Change 116, 693–704 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-012-0527-0  

[2] Krueger O., F. Feser and R. Weisse, 2019, "Northeast Atlantic Storm Activity and Its Uncertainty from the Late Nineteenth to the Twenty-First Century,” Journal of Climate. 1919-1931, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-18-0505.1