According to estimates by an energy research and business intelligence company Rystad Energy, offshore wind capacity additions in Europe will break records in 2022. The dynamics will be driven mainly by offshore wind development in the UK. The projects in the Baltic Sea will be visible on the European offshore wind map in later years.
Offshore wind capacity in Europe will reach a record high this year, exceeding 4 GW for the first time and more than doubling the installed capacity from 2021, according to research from Rystad Energy. The continent will add exactly 4.2 GW of capacity in 2022, breaking the 2021 record (1.8 GW) and surpassing the annual record of 3.8 GW set in 2019.
The record high growth in offshore wind capacity in 2022 will be driven mainly by projects in the UK, which will add 3.2 GW of wind capacity.
New generation capacity in Europe is expected to increase further in the coming years, it reads. 7.3 GW will be added in 2023 and 8.6 GW in 2025. Annual capacity additions are expected to slow down in 2024 due to project timelines, but strong development activity is likely to lead to a record number of commissioned power plants in 2025.
– Europe is the most mature offshore wind region in the world, but Chinese installations have dominated global growth in recent years. In 2021, Chinese projects accounted for 85 percent of all global capacity additions, with Europe’s share being only 10 percent. – points out Anubhav Venkatesh, an offshore wind analyst from Rystad Energy.
France, just after the UK, will be the second largest contributor to Europe’s capacity additions this year as the country commissioned its first commercial offshore wind project with a total capacity of 480 MW. Germany, which in 2021 has not increased their installed wind power capacity, will resume work on the 342 MW Kaskasi project. Norway is also expected to contribute by commissioning the 88 MW Hywind Tampen floating project, which will be the largest floating wind installation of its kind in the world. Italy will commission its first offshore wind farm, the 30 MW Taranto project, this year, while Spain is expected to contribute more capacity with its floating demonstration projects, Rystad Energy reports.
In the Netherlands and Denmark, no new offshore wind projects are expected to be activated in 2022. The Dutch projects will resume in 2023 and the Danish projects will bring about 1.5 GW of capacity between 2023 and 2025. Poland is expected to commission its first offshore wind farm in 2025, bringing about 1.4 GW of new capacity to Europe.
Source: Rystad Energy
