The global market for wind energy is expanding rapidly. As available land resources are becoming increasingly scarce, offshore wind power is gaining momentum. In 2009, eight new offshore windfarms with a capacity of almost 600MW became operational, and another 800MW is expected for 2010. Key players in the ‘offshore game’ are large multinational utility companies such as E.ON, RWE, Vattenfall and Dong Energy, and it seems that utilities that have ignored renewable energies for several years are now taking over from independent power producers and co-operatives. A closer look at the ownership structures reveals interesting differences between on- and offshore wind energy.