Europe and Asia

Several European countries and two Asian countries have offshore wind farms. The global growth rate of offshore wind energy is 30 percent installed capacity per year.

Europe is the world leader in offshore wind energy, with farms installed as early as 1991 and an operating  capacity of 2,396 MW as of June 2010. There are 39 offshore wind farms in waters off Belgium,  Denmark,  Finland,  Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.  These farms are in water depths  ranging  from 0.8  to 220 meters (2.6-722 feet) and use gravity, monopile, jacket, tripod, and floating technologies. Their distances from shore range from 0.03 to 43 kilometers (0.02-27  miles).  Largely propelled by the European Union’s renewable energy  and climate goals, as well as by legislation within individual nations, the coming years will see further development of Europe’s offshore wind industry.  As of September 2009, there were more than 100 GW (or 100,000 MW) of offshore   wind projects proposed or under development in Europe. The European Wind Energy  Association has set targets of 40  GW installed by 2020 and 150 GW by 2030.

Case  Study: Denmark

In 1991, Denmark began operating the world’s first offshore wind farm. Denmark has the industry’s simplest permitting framework. The Danish Energy Agency acts a “one-stop-shop” for offshore wind  farm  permitting,  coordinating  with other agencies to issue all three required licenses: a license to carry out preliminary investigations, a license to establish the offshore wind turbines, and a license to exploit wind power for a given number of  years including,  for  projects greater than 25 MW, an approval for electricity production. All offshore wind projects are subject to an environmental impact assessment.

According to a 2009 survey, 91 percent of Danes think that Denmark should continue  developing wind farms in the  coming decade, and 96 percent believe that the Danish government should support the development of wind energy so that Denmark can remain a leader in this expanding clean energy market. Defying NIMBY-ism (“not-in-my-backyard,” or the idea that people support a concept but wouldn’t want it near them), 64 percent of Danes think that more wind turbines should be built in their own neighborhood.

Case Study: United Kingdom

The UK has a mandate to reach 15 percent renewable energy sources for electricity by  2020. Since the UK’s first offshore wind  farm was commissioned in December 2000, the UK has moved aggressively to continue developing this renewable resource. In 2008, the UK overtook Denmark as a leader in MW capacity   of offshore wind power. In September 2010, the 300 MW Thanet wind farm came online, bringing the UK total to 13 operational offshore wind farms with a cumulative capacity of 1,341 MW. Another four offshore wind farms are under construction, and seven more have been approved, which would add another 3,772 MW of capacity upon completion.

Case Study: Germany

Germany’s first offshore wind farm  was  installed in 2008. The German wind industry expects 300 MW of new offshore wind capacity to be installed in 2010. An amended version of the German Renewable Energy Sources Act  made projects more financially viable by obligating utilities to purchase offshore wind energy for a premium price for a fixed time period – a policy instrument known as a “feed-  in tariff”. The new Power Line Expansion Law makes it easier to use underground cables and allows the costs of connecting the offshore wind farm to the grid to be spread nationwide. Offshore wind is projected to reach a  capacity  of 10,000 MW in Germany by 2020.

Case Study: China

In early 2010, China’s first offshore wind farm was completed, with 34 turbines off the coast of Shanghai.  The wind farm will  generate  102 MW– or enough power for 200,000 Chinese households. China is planning four offshore wind farms – for a total capacity of 1,000 MW – along the coast of the eastern province  of Jiangsu. China is the global leader in offshore wind energy technology manufacturing, currently holding a 61 percent share of the $47 billion market.