The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has just announced that it will lend Poland €200mn to build a second large offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea to double its installed generating capacity to 3 GW. That will catapult Poland up the rankings to make it the second biggest producer of offshore wind power in Europe, home to the majority of the globe’s offshore generating capacity.

The UK is the undisputed European leader in offshore wind power with 14 GW of installed capacity and another 8 GW under construction, and the government has awarded contracts to construct a further 9 GW. Most of the rest of the European countries with long coastlines count their installed offshore wind generating capacity in the tens of megawatts, if that.

But all of Europe’s offshore wind power capacity pales into insignificance compared to the global green energy champion of China, which already had 31.5 GW of offshore wind installed capacity as of the end of 2023 and accounts for nearly half the global total by itself.

As bne IntelliNews reported, China hit its ambitious renewable energy goals only four years after setting targets and six years ahead of schedule, largely thanks to an explosion in solar energy investment. China has reportedly already hit peak emissions in 2024, and because of its sheer size and the fact that it remains the world’s biggest emitter of emissions, that may mean the world has also passed peak emissions.

While most of the focus has been into China’s solar panel investments, it is also by far the leader in adding to its offshore wind power capacity, as well as rolling out an ambitious programme to build around 40 nuclear power plants (NPPs) that has put it on track to overtake both France and the US’ nuclear power generating capacity.

New Chinese wind power capacity is a key part of the green energy programme under the fourteenth Five-Year Plan that calls for raising the installed capacity to an astonishing 1,500 GW by 2050, according to Nature. Regional initiatives will play a big role in the roll-out. For instance, Shanghai has announced plans to install approximately 29 GW of offshore wind capacity, aiming to generate around 100 TWh of green electricity annually, reports OffshoreWIND.biz – more than twice what the UK already has and on a par with Europe’s entire current offshore wind power generating capacity in Shanghai alone.

After China, the UK is the world’s next offshore wind power champion and has by far the most ambitious expansion plans of its European neighbours.

As of December 2024, the UK has approximately 14 GW of operational offshore wind capacity, mostly on the Dogger Wind Bank wind farm, located over 130 km off the northeast coast of England. When the new commissions come online, the Dogger Bank will be the world's largest offshore wind farm, capable of powering up to 6mn homes annually, according to doggerbank.com.

Additionally, Danish multinational energy company Ørsted, which is also one of the partners in the new Polish Baltic 2 wind farm project, operates 12 offshore wind farms in the UK, with a total capacity of 5.6 GW, generating enough green energy to power over 6mn UK homes each year. Today, Ørsted is recognised as the world's largest developer of offshore wind power, having developed approximately 30% of the global installed capacity outside mainland China.

The UK government has set an ambitious target of achieving 50 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. However, recent reports suggest that the country is on course to miss its 2030 clean power targets by 32 GW. Despite government efforts to remove barriers and support the renewable energy sector, practical challenges and uncertainties over market reforms hinder progress.

In addition to its 14.7 GW of offshore wind, the UK also has 15.7 GW of onshore wind, and 17.6 GW of solar power. However, forecasts project that this will increase to 37 GW of offshore wind, 17 GW of onshore wind and 29 GW of solar by 2030, far below the targets, the Financial Times reports.

Despite the obstacles slowing the development of wind power in the UK, it remains streets ahead of most of the rest of Europe. Italy is a case in point and highlights the problems many governments face.

Italy has a long coastline and is ideal for wind power. However, the authorities have been reluctant to roll out wind farm projects for fear of spoiling the country’s legendary panoramas and affecting its cash cow tourism industry.

As of 2024, Italy's total offshore wind energy installed capacity was a mere 30 MW from its first farm, the Beleolico Park near Taranto, which commenced operations in 2022, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reports.

The government remains torn over the idea of building more, but as Europe’s energy crisis becomes more pressing, it has announced a raft of plans. The Italian Wind Energy Association (ANEV) estimates a potential of 5.5 GW of offshore wind capacity could be built by 2030. In June 2024, the European Commission approved a €35.5bn scheme to support the development of 4.5 GW of new renewable capacity in Italy, including offshore wind projects.

Several projects are currently in development:

7SeasMed Floating Offshore Wind Project: Approved in 2024, this 250-MW floating wind farm will be located over 20 miles (32 km) off the coast of Sicily near Marsala.

GreenIT Joint Venture: A collaboration between Plenitude (Eni Group) and CDP Equity, planning projects in Sicily and Southwest Sardinia.

Falck Renewables and BlueFloat Energy Partnership: Developing projects in Southern and Northeastern Sardinia, as well as in Puglia.

Seawind: Proposing two projects in Southwest Sardinia.

Energia Wind 2020: Planning a project in the northern Adriatic Sea, off the coast of Rimini.

Renexia: Proposing projects off the Egadi islands, north of Sicily, and off the coast of Sardinia.

Agnes: Planning a project in the northern Adriatic Sea, off the coast of Ravenna.

But getting any of these projects off the ground remains challenging, as they will face stiff resistance from locals on aesthetic grounds, especially beauty spots like Sardinia, where local authorities have already imposed an 18-month moratorium on new wind turbine installations to address concerns about the impact on the island's natural beauty and cultural heritage, The Times reports.

Germany has been a pioneer in wind generated power, with turbines now peppering the German countryside, and wind is now the country’s primary source of power, contributing around 136 TWh to the energy mix, out of a third (33%) of the total in 2024.

However, aesthetic objections are rising as the number of wind power turbines proliferates. In her election campaign speeches, far-right AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) populist leader Alice Weidel has called for the wind turbines that are polluting the skyline to be torn down, calling them “windmills of shame”, and for Germany to return to coal, oil gas and nuclear power to power the country. She also, like US President Donald Trump, wants to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Nevertheless, Germany has also established itself as a European leader in offshore wind energy, with significant installed capacity and ambitious expansion plans. As of the end of 2022, Germany had over 1,500 offshore wind turbines connected to the grid, totalling approximately 8 GW of capacity. The majority of these turbines are located in the North Sea, with about 7 GW installed off Germany's western coast, compared to just over 1 GW in the Baltic Sea to the east, according to cleanenergywire.org.

Notable projects include the Trianel Windpark Borkum, situated 45 km north of the island of Borkum. Its first phase comprises 40 turbines with a total capacity of 200 MW, operational since 2015. A second phase added 32 turbines, each rated at 6.33 MW, bringing the total capacity to over 400 MW.

Another significant development is the Windanker offshore wind project in the Baltic Sea. Japan's Kansai Electric Power Co. acquired a 49% stake in this project from Iberdrola. The wind farm will have a capacity of 315 MW and is expected to begin operations in late 2026, with an estimated value of €1.3bn, Reuters reports.

Germany aims to increase its offshore wind capacity to 30 GW by 2030 and 70 GW by 2045, on a par with the UK. However, a status report by wind energy consultancy Deutsche WindGuard indicates that those targets will be missed and only about 27 GW is likely to be constructed by the end of the decade, cleanenergywire.org reports.

Other significant offshore wind projects

The UK and Germany remain head and shoulders above the rest of Europe in terms of installed offshore wind generation capacity, but several other EU members are also expanding their generating capacity, albeit at a smaller scale.

Denmark has been a pioneer in offshore wind energy and already had installed 2.3 GW of offshore wind power as of 2023. However, the country recently announced a halt to its ongoing offshore wind tenders to revamp its subsidy model. The current subsidy-free framework has proved ineffective under challenging market conditions, including rising costs and supply chain issues. In December 2024, the latest tender failed to attract any bids. The Danish government is preparing a new tender for 2-3 GW of offshore wind capacity, potentially including state subsidies.

The Netherlands has been rapidly expanding its offshore wind capacity from the 5.3GW it already has. Notable projects include the Borssele Wind Farm Zone, comprising Borssele I & II, with a combined capacity of 752 MW, and Borssele III & IV adding 731.5 MW. These projects significantly contribute to the country's renewable energy targets.

France is actively developing its offshore wind sector, but from a low base of 978 MW as of 2023, as its beaches are as famous as those in Italy. Projects such as the Fécamp (498 MW) and Saint-Brieuc (496 MW) wind farms are under construction, aiming to diversify the country's energy mix and reduce its reliance on nuclear power.

Ireland is only stepping off square one with a mere 25 MW of installed offshore wind farm generating capacity. But new projects like the Sceirde Rocks Wind Farm off the Connemara coast will begin the process of building up its renewable wind generating capacity. Developed by Corio Generation, the Sceirde Rocks 450-MW wind farm aims to power approximately 295,000 homes with 30 turbines at an estimated cost of €2bn. Construction is expected to start in 2026, with operation by 2030.

Norway is also a laggard with only 96 MW. The problem is that the fiords that make up Norway’s coast are extremely deep. Consequently Oslo is experimenting with floating offshore wind technology. The Hywind Tampen project, with a capacity of 88 MW, is set to be one of the world's largest floating wind farms, supplying electricity to offshore oil and gas platforms.

Spain and Portugal also have lots of beaches, but also have done little to develop offshore wind generating capacity: 7 MW and 25 MW respectively, despite long coasts with plenty of wind. Pilot projects are now underway, with plans for larger installations in the future.

Beyond China and Europe, the rest of the world has yet to embrace offshore wind power, where it remains almost non-existent. In comparison, the United States has a relatively modest offshore wind capacity, totalling around 42 MW as of 2023. As of 2023, Brazil, India, and South Africa do not have any operational offshore wind farms. However, these countries have shown interest in developing offshore wind energy, with various projects in planning or early development stages.