Europe could have between 64GW and 86GW of installed offshore wind farm capacity by 2030, according to a report by engineering group BVG Associates for WindEurope.
The report – ‘Unleashing Europe’s offshore wind potential: A new resource assessment’ – said such projections would mean between 8% and 11% of European electricity demand comes from offshore wind.
It identified the North Sea as the area with the greatest potential for future development and called on European governments to co-operate to develop a continuous, sufficient and visible pipeline of projects.
WindEurope, which is co-hosting the Offshore Wind Europe 2017 conference in London, also urged governments to co-ordinate tenders across European sea basins and jointly develop international grid infrastructure to facilitate the roll out of new offshore projects.
Between 4.5GW and 7.5GW will need to be added to the waters of the Baltic Sea, North Sea and Atlantic each year if the predictions are to be met, the report said.
Additional power could be generated at levelized costs of €65MWh or below – including grid connection. The report said cost reductions would be driven in the most part by lower financing costs.
Turbines of between 13-15MW with rotor diameters of between 212 and 228 metres are envisioned by 2030.
The machines would be capable of operating at wind speeds as low as 7.5 metres per second, the report added.
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