Europe’s offshore wind industry brought online a record 4.2 GW of new capacity in 2023 and is expected to build around 5 GW of offshore wind annually over the next three years, according to WindEurope data. However, this is still not enough to meet the continent’s 2030 climate and energy security targets, WindEurope added.

The overall offshore wind capacity installed in 2023 was 40 per cent higher than in 2022. Of the 4.2 GW of new capacity, 3 GW was in the EU, an increase of 2.1 GW year on year, WindEurope said.

The Netherlands, France, and the UK installed the most new capacity, including the 1.5 GW Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind project in the Netherlands, according to the organisation.

According to figures published by WindEurope, offshore wind investments in Europe also reached a new record with a total of EUR 30 billion raised across eight wind farms which will finance 9 GW of new offshore capacity.

This record comes after legal uncertainty and unhelpful market intervention led to a drop in offshore wind investments, falling to an all-time low of EUR 0.4bn in 2022, according to WindEurope.

Last year saw several positive developments including the publication of EU’s Wind Power Package, with 26 European Governments committing to implementing the actions ascribed to them in the package.

In the UK, the government raised the ceiling price by 66 per cent for the upcoming offshore auction round (AR6) following no bids in the 2023 Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction round (AR5) after the country failed to adjust the maximum ceiling price to the market reality of inflation and higher input prices.

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: WindEurope