Wind Energy

In Europe, offshore wind farm increased by 54%

In 2009, Europe added an offshore wind power capacity of 577 MW, 54% more than the 377 MW installed in 2008. Revenues in this sector totalized 1.5 billion euros, a figure that will double in 2010, according to the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).

According to data published by the EWEA, eight new wind farms (199 wind turbines) came into operation at sea in 2009, while in 2010 another 10 wind farms will be completed, for additional 1,000 MW.

Also, another 17 projects are in an advanced phase, totalizing 3,500 MW of offshore wind power, of which half in the United Kingdom, while another 52 wind farms (16,000 MW) are in the planning phase.

Today, Europe is the world leader in offshore wind energy with 828 wind turbines installed in 38 wind farms located in 9 countries, totalizing 2,056 MW.

The United Kingdom and Denmark are leaders in this sector, with a respective share of 44% and 30%. In 2009, Great Britain developed new projects for 284 MW, followed by Denmark (230 MW), Sweden (30 MW), Germany (30 MW) and Norway (2.3 MW).

On the other hand, considering all proposed projects, regardless of the financial aspects and status of the project, over 100,000 MW have been proposed, which could cover 10% of Europe’s electricity demand.

www.ewea.org/fileadmin/emag/statistics/2009offshore/