According to new statistics released by WindEurope, Europe added 2918MW of new offshore wind power in 2020. Europe now has 25GW of offshore wind capacity made up of 116 projects operating across 12 countries.
The report stated that Europe saw nine new wind farms completed (grid-connected). One has partial grid connection and will be fully commissioned in 2021 whilst construction work has started on six other wind farms where no turbines have yet been grid-connected.
Europe now has a total installed offshore wind capacity of 25 GW. That corresponds to 5,402 grid-connected wind turbines across 12 countries.
Eight new offshore wind projects reached Final Decision Investment (FID) in four different countries during 2020, with construction due to start in the coming years.
WindEurope chief executive Giles Dickson said: “€26bn in new investments in 2020 is a huge vote of confidence in offshore wind. Investors see that offshore wind is cheap, reliable, and resilient – and that governments want more of it these investments will create jobs and growth. Every new offshore wind turbine generates €15m of economic activity. We expect the 77,000 people working in offshore wind today in Europe to be 200,000 by 2030.”
New wind power in 2020 came from: The Netherlands (1,493 MW), Belgium (706 MW), the UK (483 MW), Germany (219 MW) and Portugal (17 MW).
"The continuing growth in Offshore Wind and renewable energy in general is extremely encouraging that we are moving in the right direction towards global climate change targets. Light Source People have been delighted to help all our clients over 2020 to achieve the goals their businesses set to get this wind power online" stated LSP Managing Director, Adam Grainger.
