Europe Adds 4.2 GW Offshore Wind in 2023; Up 40% From 2022

WindEurope – a premier association promoting wind energy in Europe – held that year 2023 witnessed a record 4.2 GW of new offshore wind farms come online in Europe. This was a 40 percent increase compared to the corresponding figures from 2022. The agency said that €30 billion of new investments were confirmed in 2023 covering 9 GW that’ll be built over the coming years.

WindEurope said that the supply chain is also seeing a turnaround. New factories have been announced in Poland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain.

“2023 was the best year on record for new offshore wind installations in both the EU and across Europe as a whole. Europe built 4.2 GW of offshore wind in 2023. That’s 1.7 GW more than in 2022,” said WindEurope. Though, in 2021, Europe added a total of 3.4 GW of offshore wind energy.

It was held that in 2023, three GW of offshore wind energy was added in the European Union (EU) alone. Even this was an increase of 2.1 GW year on year.

The Netherlands, France and the UK installed the most new capacity. This includes the 1.5 GW “Hollandse Kust Zuid” project in the Netherlands – now the world’s largest operational wind farm.

Investments Soar

A total of €30 billion was raised for 8 wind farms of 9-GW capacity. This record comes after legal uncertainty and unhelpful market intervention had led to a drop in offshore wind investments, falling to an all-time low of €0.4 billion in 2022. It also means that projects which had to postpone their final investment decision in 2022 are now moving ahead – excellent news for Europe’s energy security and competitiveness.

Promise That 2024 Brings In Offshore Wind

WindEurope held that if all European countries run their 2024 auctions as planned, at least 40 GW will be auctioned in 2024 alone. Germany, Denmark, the UK, France, and Netherlands are the top five countries auctioning capacity over the next two years. France will announce the results of Europe’s first commercial-scale floating offshore wind tender.

As per WindEurope report, Germany will auction almost 9 GW in 2023 alone.

Poland’s first commercial offshore wind farm, the 1.2 GW Baltic Power project, reached its final investment decision in 2023, marking the start of Poland’s offshore wind development plans. By 2040 Poland wants to have 18 GW.

Scaling Up The Supply Chain

The report says that three new foundation manufacturing facilities for offshore turbines are being built by Sif in Rotterdam, Baltic Structures in Esbjerg and by SEaH in the UK.

Europe is set to build around 5 GW of offshore wind annually over the next three years. Also, Europe’s leading manufacturers of offshore power cables are all expanding their factories which should ensure they can meet the growing demand for cable to connect offshore wind farms in Europe.