The E.U. Commission’s aims to achieving between 230 and 450GW of offshore wind by 2050, provided the right investments in electricity grids and Governments take the right approach to maritime spatial planning. That’s the conclusion of a new WindEurope report “Our energy, our future.”
The increase in 450GW is part of EU’s goal in becoming carbon-neutral by 2050.
The report considers where 450GW of offshore wind could be deployed around the EU, keeping in mind that until now the EU has 20GW.
Specifically:
- 212GW could be deployed in the North Sea
- 85GW in the Atlantic (including the Irish Sea),
- 83GW in the Baltic
- 70GW in the Mediterranean and other Southern European waters.
This reflects the relative wind resources, proximity to energy demand and the location of the supply chain.
Concerning the North Seas, the 60% that remains can not be used for offshore purposes, as these zones are used either for fishing, shipping or military activities.
In the meantime, building 450GW offshore wind by 2050 requires Europe to install over 20GW a year by 2030 compared to 3GW today. This will need Governments to provide visibility on volumes and revenue schemes, giving a long-term confidence for the necessary investments.
Government also have to anticipate the development in offshore wind in their planning for both offshore and onshore grid connections. Offshore grid investments will need to rise from less than €2 billion in 2020 to up €8 billion a year by 2030. Europe also needs to provide a regulatory framework for offshore wind farms that have grid connections to more than one country.
In addition, the capital expenditure on offshore wind has to increase from 6 billion euros annually in 2020, to 23 billion euros by 2030 and then to 45 million euros.
WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson stated that IEA considers the possibility of the offshore wind becoming the number one source of power generation in Europe in the early 2040s.
To achieve this, there are three steps that need to be taken:
- the offshore wind supply chain keeps growing
- we build the grid connections
- we get the maritime spatial planning right.
To explore more on the “Our Energy, Our Future” report herebelow
