'Wind theft': The mysterious effect plaguing wind farms7 May 2025 Share Save Sophie Hardach Share SaveGetty ImagesAs wind farms expand, some can accidentally "steal" each others' wind – causing worries over some countries' energy transition to net zero. As offshore wind farms are expanding around the world in the race to meet net zero climate targets, a worrying phenomenon is attracting growing attention: in some conditions, wind farms can "steal" each other's wind. The wind is slower behind each turbine within the wind farm than in front of it, and also behind the wind farm as a whole, compared with in front of it, he explains. "When you have two wind farms, it's very simple to assess that wind farm A is interacting this much with wind farm B, and vice versa. China, for example, is rapidly expanding its offshore wind farms, and researchers there have cast a spotlight on the growing impact of wake effects on Chinese offshore wind farms.