Europe’s offshore wind capacity rose 18 pct last year: Industry group
Europe installed 2.6 gigawatts of new offshore wind energy in 2018, raising total capacity to 18.5 GW, WindEurope’s annual report on the industry shows
LONDON: Europe’s offshore wind capacity grew by 18 percent in 2018 as new wind farms came online and it is expected to rise further this year, industry group WindEurope said.
Europe installed 2.6 gigawatts (GW) of new offshore wind energy in 2018, raising total capacity to 18.5 GW, WindEurope’s annual report on the industry shows.
Britain and Germany accounted for 85 percent of the new capacity, adding 1.3 GW and 969 megawatts respectively.
Another six offshore wind farms are currently under construction in Europe, the report said.
In addition, another 12 new offshore wind projects reached a final investment decision stage last year, representing a further 4.2 GW of capacity and 10.3 billion euros of investment.
“Offshore wind now represents 2 percent of all the electricity consumed in Europe. And with a big pipeline of projects under construction and development, this number will rise significantly,” WindEurope chief executive Giles Dickson said in a statement.
“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,” he added.
WindEurope has more than 400 members such as turbine manufacturers, component suppliers, wind energy developers and electricity suppliers.
Source: reuters
