UK leads growth as 333 megawatts in new offshore wind power projects come online in Europe.

Despite a lagging global economy and tight credit markets, 2010 is shaping up to be a banner year for the offshore wind energy industry. According to new figures (pdf) released by the European Wind Energy Association, 118 new offshore wind turbines with a total capacity of 333 megawatts were fully connected to the European grid in the first half of 2010.

The new capacity coming online in the UK, Germany, Denmark and Belgium is well over half the 577 MW the industry developed in the first half of 2009, the offshore wind energy industry's strongest year to date. New capacity outside of Europe was limited as only a handful of offshore wind farms even exist outside of Europe.

"Despite the financial crisis offshore wind continues to be a major growth industry" said Justin Wilkes, Director of Policy at EWEA. "The number of offshore wind turbines connected to the grid is in the first half of this year is well over half the total amount installed all last year and I am confident we are heading for a record year."

And there's good reason for Mr. Wilkes' confidence. With another 151 turbines (440 MW) installed but not yet connected to the grid and a whopping 3,972 MW of total capacity under construction, the pipeline for offshore wind power projects in Europe looks plenty busy.

"There is no doubt this burgeoning industry is being held back by a lack of finance," Wilkes said. "Projects led by utilities are less affected thanks to their ability to fund investments from their balance sheets but independent developers are severely constrained."

Europe light years ahead

Europe is well ahead of the rest of the world in offshore wind energy development. While there are currently 43 fully operational offshore wind farms in Europe, generating a total capacity of 2,396 megawatts, there are still only a handful that operate beyond European shores; China has projects in operation and under development and Japan has a few smaller facilities.

Of course, there are currently zero fully operational wind farms in the U.S., generating a total capacity of zero megawatts.

In April, however, the U.S. did finally get an offshore wind farm approved by the federal government after a protracted 8-year long legal and political battle costing taxpayers and private interests millions of dollars - a battle that is still being clung to by the wind farm's opponents.

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