WindEurope: Offshore wind could generate up to 11% of EU electricity; Netherlands and France have potential

According to WindEurope, offshore wind farms could account for 7-11% of electricity generation in the European Union in 2030. According to its latest analysis, this is only a fraction of the potential that wind farms in European coastal waters could offer. Significant growth is expected particularly in France and the Netherlands.

Following the recent success of offshore wind farms in auctions first held in the Netherlands and subsequently in Germany, offshore wind is moving further into the spotlight in the energy sector. WindEurope is also contributing with its analysis assessing the potential of wind farms in the European Union.

The analysis first mentions the overall theoretical potential of this means of electricity generation in the EU. At a price of 65 EUR/MWh, including grid connection costs, offshore wind turbines could generate between 2600 – 6000 TWh of electricity annually, equivalent for comparison to 80-180% of total EU electricity consumption.

The study is divided into a base and a high scenario. Even under the base scenario, the total capacity of offshore wind farms in the EU should reach 64 GW in 2030, with the analysis assuming annual additions of around 4 GW.

The high scenario assumes almost twice as much growth in offshore wind capacity. In that case, up to 88 GW of offshore wind farms could supply electricity to Europe.

Significant growth in the coming years is expected particularly in the Netherlands, where offshore wind capacity should be added at roughly the same rate as in the United Kingdom, which is currently among the leaders in the sector. In addition to the Netherlands, WindEurope also expects installed capacity to grow in France.

As a result, the two countries mentioned above could join the United Kingdom and Germany as the four European countries with the largest amounts of installed offshore wind capacity.

Cooperation and government support for projects are key

According to the organisation, further successful development will require cooperation between the individual countries able to build wind farms. This applies especially to coordinating individual tenders through which support for new projects is allocated.

Government support for projects and their development is also key, along with setting ambitious targets that should sustain the sector's gradual development.

There are currently 12,6 GW of offshore wind farms built across the EU. The full analysis of the European Union's potential can be found on the WindEurope website.

Lead image source: innogy, Thornton Bank wind farm