Europe has developed 3.6 GW of new offshore wind turbine capacity in 2019, a record in terms of annual installations, according to a report published by WindEurope on Thursday 6 February. Nevertheless, ”the current level of new installations and investments is far from sufficient”, the association confesses.
According to WindEurope, the European Commission estimates that the EU needs 230-450 GW of offshore wind energy by 2050 to achieve climate neutrality. This is equivalent to building 7 GW of new offshore wind turbines per year by 2030, almost double the amount in 2019, and rising to 18 GW per year by 2050.
The good news is that the cost of offshore wind turbines continues to drop significantly. With consumer prices last year in the range of €40-50/MWh, offshore wind turbines are now cheaper than building new gas, coal or nuclear power plants, the report says.
Concerning the strategy for offshore renewable energy in the Commission's work programme for the end of 2020, Giles Dickson, CEO of WindEurope, recommends that this strategy should clearly indicate how to mobilise the investments needed to reach 450 GW by 2050.
However, “crucially it should provide a master plan for (a) developing offshore and onshore grid connections and (b) obtaining the maritime spatial planning right”, Dickson added.
Europe's offshore wind installations are currently spread across 12 countries, including 10 EU Member States. In total, Europe currently has offshore wind capacity of 22.072 GW.
However, the country with the largest offshore wind capacity is the United Kingdom, with 45% of all installations.
Mr Dickson therefore calls on the EU to cooperate closely with the UK in the context of the Commission's future strategy for offshore renewable energy.
To read the WindEurope report: http://bit.ly/2SATRMf (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)