The EWEA has released the "European offshore wind industry — key trends and statistics 1st half 2014" report.According to the report, on the first six months of 2014, Europe fully grid connected 224 offshore wind turbines in 16 commercial wind farms and one offshore demonstration site with a combined capacity totaling 781 MW.
There are 310 wind turbines awaiting grid connection. Once connected, these will add a total capacity of over 1,200 MW. The total capacity of all the wind farms under construction is over 4,900 MW when fully commissioned.
“Despite offshore wind power installations being lower than in the first six months of last year, it remains the fastest growing power sector in Europe” said Justin Wilkes, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).
There are currently 16 offshore wind farms under construction in Europe, once completed they will bring online 4.9 GW of power capacity. “However, despite significant financing activity in the first half of the year, the contraction in installations we have witnessed in these first six months, may well continue into 2015 and 2016,” warned Wilkes.
“To ensure healthy growth in the latter part of the decade, and to ensure offshore wind energy plays its role in meeting the EU’s competitiveness, security, renewable and climate objectives, the industry must be given longer-term visibility. An ambitious deal on the 2030 Climate and Energy package by the EU’s Heads of State in October would send the right signal, making their decision particularly important for the offshore wind sector” concluded Wilkes.
In total, there were, on 1 July 2014, 2,304 offshore wind turbines with a combined capacity of 7,343 MW fully grid connected in European waters in 73 wind farms across 11 countries, including demonstration sites. These are capable of producing 27 TW·h of electricity, enough to meet the needs of over 7 million households—or the entire population of the Netherlands.
The full text of the report is available for download (pdf)
