Offshore wind turbines are becoming more popular: This is noticeable in terms of investments and the power generated. In some countries a particularly large number of systems have been installed.
Last year, more new offshore wind turbines were connected to the grid across Europe than ever before in one year. According to preliminary figures, with 4.2 gigawatts of installed capacity in offshore wind farms, 40 percent more were put into operation than in 2022, as the wind industry association WindEurope announced.
The EU accounted for three gigawatts of this. This corresponds to an increase of 2.1 gigawatts compared to the previous year. For comparison: Large coal-fired power plants such as Datteln 4 have a capacity of over one gigawatt. Most of the new capacity was reportedly installed in the maritime areas of the Netherlands, France and Great Britain.
Investments in offshore wind turbines in Europe also reportedly reached a record level. A total of 30 billion was raised for eight wind farms. This will finance a new offshore capacity of nine gigawatts. After a market collapse in 2022 – due, among other things, to the consequences of the Russian attack on Ukraine and unclear political conditions – and a historic low in investments (0.4 billion euros), the situation has recovered again.
Even when looking at the newly installed wind turbines on land, according to recently published preliminary figures from the association, more wind turbines were built in the EU in 2023 than ever before in one year. According to the association, the share of wind energy in total electricity generation in Europe was 19 percent in 2023.
Source: Stern
