European Offshore Wind Sees Record Year for 2022

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--European offshore wind installations are looking at a bumper year in 2022, with more than four gigawatts (GW) of new capacity expected to come online.

The 4.2 GW of new capacity will more than double what was commissioned in 2021 and beat the existing annual record of 3.8 GW in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the industry. Figures released by Rystad Energy indicate that the strong growth can be expected to continue, almost doubling again in 2023 to 7.3 GW and jumping to 8.6 GW in 2025. The U.K.--already the leading European offshore wind region--is expected to drive much of the growth this year, accounting for 3.2 GW of the 4.2 GW total.

Industrial Info is tracking the three key U.K. offshore wind projects expected to be fully commissioned this year: Hornsea Two (1.4 GW), Moray East (950 megawatts (MW)) and Triton Knoll (860 MW). Overall, Industrial Info is tracking 178 European offshore wind projects worth almost US$364 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for the reports.

The offshore wind market will be buoyed by recent energy strategy plans released separately by Germany and the U.K., which have been heavily influenced by a growing European shift to reduce, and eventually end, reliance on Russian gas imports in light of its invasion of Ukraine. For additional information, see April 14, 2022, article--Germany to Double Renewable Energy by 2030 and April 19, 2022, article--U.K. Wants Eight New Nuclear Power Reactors.

"Europe is the world's most mature offshore wind region, but Chinese installations have dominated global additions in recent years," explained Rystad Energy offshore wind analyst Anubhav Venkatesh. "Chinese projects represented 85% of all global capacity additions in 2021, with Europe only contributing 10%. But that looks set to change this year, and the continent is expected to continue ramping up capacity additions through the end of the decade."

France will be the second-largest offshore wind contributor in 2022 when it commissions its first commercial offshore wind project totaling 480 MW. The Saint-Nazaire windfarm is located off the Guérande peninsula. Germany, which added no new offshore capacity in 2021, will restart installations this year with the 342-MW Kaskasi project.

Norway is expected to commission the 88-MW Hywind Tampen floating offshore wind project, which will be the largest floating offshore wind installation of its kind globally. Italy will commission its first offshore windfarm, the 30 MW Taranto project, while Spain will add some smaller amounts of capacity with its floating demonstration projects.

The Netherlands and Denmark are not likely to commission new offshore wind projects this year. Dutch capacity additions will resume in 2023, while Danish projects will add around 1.5 GW of capacity between 2023 and 2025. Poland is expected to commission its first offshore windfarm in 2025, contributing around 1.4 GW of capacity.

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