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Released February 19, 2019 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Europe continues to rapidly increase its offshore wind installations, with 2.6 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity installed in 2018, an increase of 18% over 2017.
Fifteen new offshore windfarms were commissioned last year according to industry body WindEurope. The U.K and Germany dominated the sector with1.3 GW and 969 MW, respectively, accounting for 85% of the new capacity. There are now 105 offshore windfarms in Europe, spread across 11 countries, with a total capacity of 18.5 GW--around 10% of the total European wind energy capacity--with the rest onshore.
"Offshore wind continues to grow strongly in Europe," explained WindEurope Chief Executive Officer Giles Dickson. "Offshore wind now represents 2% of all the electricity consumed in Europe. And with a big pipeline of projects under construction and development, this number will rise significantly. The technology keeps developing. The turbines keep getting bigger. And the costs keep falling. It's now no more expensive to build offshore wind than it is to build coal or gas plants. And it's a good deal cheaper than new nuclear."
The size and scale of offshore wind continued to rise last year, with the average size of the new turbines installed standing at 6.8 megawatts (MW), 15% bigger than in 2017. The U.K. installed the world's biggest offshore turbines--8.8 MW--and opened the world's largest offshore windfarm, the Walney 3 extension at 657 MW. Belgium and Germany also opened their largest windfarms to date. There are six offshore windfarms currently under construction in Europe, including the world's first windfarm bigger than 1 GW--Hornsea 1--in the U.K.
Final investment decisions (FIDs) also were reached last year for 12 new offshore wind projects that will add further 4.2 GW of capacity and an investment value of 10.3 billion euro ($11.6 billion).
"More and more governments are recognising the merits of offshore wind," Dickson said. "Poland is the latest to embrace it with an ambitious plan to build 10 GW by 2040. But a few countries are underperforming on it and risk missing out. Sweden is not building any offshore wind despite great potential. Germany has only a modest target for 2030. And the 'gamma minus' performer is France which still has no offshore wind farms nor is it clear when they will have. These countries have a chance to put things right this year with their National Energy and Climate Plans -- they should grab it with two hands."
In related news, the Belgian government has proposed a target of 4 GW of total installed offshore wind capacity by 2030 in the draft of the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP). Sweden's Vattenfall (Stockholm) also plans to construct 2.3 billion euro ($2.6 billion) in wind power in 2019 and 2020. Last December, the Swedish energy company made the investment decision to build the 605-MW Kriegers Flak offshore windfarm in Denmark.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
Fifteen new offshore windfarms were commissioned last year according to industry body WindEurope. The U.K and Germany dominated the sector with1.3 GW and 969 MW, respectively, accounting for 85% of the new capacity. There are now 105 offshore windfarms in Europe, spread across 11 countries, with a total capacity of 18.5 GW--around 10% of the total European wind energy capacity--with the rest onshore.
"Offshore wind continues to grow strongly in Europe," explained WindEurope Chief Executive Officer Giles Dickson. "Offshore wind now represents 2% of all the electricity consumed in Europe. And with a big pipeline of projects under construction and development, this number will rise significantly. The technology keeps developing. The turbines keep getting bigger. And the costs keep falling. It's now no more expensive to build offshore wind than it is to build coal or gas plants. And it's a good deal cheaper than new nuclear."
The size and scale of offshore wind continued to rise last year, with the average size of the new turbines installed standing at 6.8 megawatts (MW), 15% bigger than in 2017. The U.K. installed the world's biggest offshore turbines--8.8 MW--and opened the world's largest offshore windfarm, the Walney 3 extension at 657 MW. Belgium and Germany also opened their largest windfarms to date. There are six offshore windfarms currently under construction in Europe, including the world's first windfarm bigger than 1 GW--Hornsea 1--in the U.K.
Final investment decisions (FIDs) also were reached last year for 12 new offshore wind projects that will add further 4.2 GW of capacity and an investment value of 10.3 billion euro ($11.6 billion).
"More and more governments are recognising the merits of offshore wind," Dickson said. "Poland is the latest to embrace it with an ambitious plan to build 10 GW by 2040. But a few countries are underperforming on it and risk missing out. Sweden is not building any offshore wind despite great potential. Germany has only a modest target for 2030. And the 'gamma minus' performer is France which still has no offshore wind farms nor is it clear when they will have. These countries have a chance to put things right this year with their National Energy and Climate Plans -- they should grab it with two hands."
In related news, the Belgian government has proposed a target of 4 GW of total installed offshore wind capacity by 2030 in the draft of the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP). Sweden's Vattenfall (Stockholm) also plans to construct 2.3 billion euro ($2.6 billion) in wind power in 2019 and 2020. Last December, the Swedish energy company made the investment decision to build the 605-MW Kriegers Flak offshore windfarm in Denmark.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
