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The role of offshore wind in Europe’s climate, energy, and economic future
The offshore wind sector is one that is creating jobs and
reducing fossil fuel imports. It represents an industry
that Europe leads, with growth opportunities in the global Methodology
market. This report has been commissioned by the European
As we make progress towards a low carbon economy, this Wind Energy Association (EWEA) to describe the
report examines the extent to which offshore wind can current state of offshore wind energy and highlight the
contribute to Europe’s energy challenges and objectives. potential of the European offshore wind energy sector.
In particular, the report focuses on: It has been elaborated in close collaboration with
• The potential of offshore wind; offshore wind industry representatives.
• The socio-economic impacts of the industry today and The 2020 offshore wind capacity scenario for
the wider cost debate; Europe, as well as employment figures for 2030 are
• The socio-economic and environmental benefits of derived from studies previously conducted by EWEA.
ambitious deployment targets for offshore wind,
The EU electricity mix scenarios presented in this
compared with conventional fuel scenarios;
report have been elaborated by EY, on the basis of
• Measures needed for fully realizing the potential of the available scientific data.
offshore wind.
1250
More than Scientific publications • LORC, Denmark
on offshore wind • Hunterston, UK
in Europe between
• Multiple in-house test and demonstrator sites in
1994 and 2010 5
Denmark, Germany, and UK, operated by developers on
leading-edge large capacity turbines.
As the first region to recognize the importance of
European governments and private companies invest
offshore wind, European industry has taken advantage
significant sums in R&D and have built a leadership position
of knowledge from onshore wind and offshore oil and gas
in the offshore wind market.
sectors to evolve into a dynamic new sector.
The emerging offshore wind industry has made
1 EEA - Onshore and offshore wind energy potential (2009)
considerable technological progress over the last years: 2 Fraunhofer IWES - The Importance of offshore wind energy in the energy sector and
in the German Energiewende, (2013)
• The energy produced by the entire world’s first offshore 3 Ibid
wind farm, installed in 1991, Vindeby (Denmark) could 4 IEA (2014), DECC (2013)
5 Wieczorek et al. - A review of the European offshore wind innovation system (2013)
now be produced by a single 5MW turbine. 6 EWEA – Deep Water, the next step for offshore wind energy (2013)
7 EWEA Analysis into European Commission CORDIS data
A breakdown of potential growth in 2020 1 EWEA – The European offshore wind industry – key trends and statistics in 2014
2 ENTSO - Online Data Portal (January 2015)
3 EWEA Employment Data
+20GW
25
20
TOTAL EU28 = 28 GW
Capacity Installed
15
+7GW
10
+6GW
+2GW
+2GW
5
+1GW
+2GW
Capacity
2020
2014
0
Total EU28 UK Germany Denmark Netherlands Belgium France
LCOE (€/MWh)
• Greater supply chain optimization and logistical 40
110
LCo
integration could potentially achieve a 3% savings E
100
Responding to this, the industry has started rolling out larger 30
90
6-8 MW turbines3. While there are immediate higher capital
20 80
expenditure costs, the increased energy capture is reaching
the economies of scale needed to lower the cost of energy. 70
10
Concurrently within supply chain logistics and O&M, 60
the industry is also working together on long-term 0 50
projects to optimize processes and plan better for future
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
developments4.
Wind Wind
€ct/kWh Nuclear Coal Gas Solar PV Onshore Offshore
LCoE
+ Subsidies
+ Transmission
+ Variability 7.9
7.9 8.0 6.7 10.0 5.5 9.5
7.9 8.0
8.0 6.7
6.7 10.0
10.0 5.5
5.5 9.5
9.5
9.4
9.4 7.7
7.7 7.4
7.4 7.7
7.7 5.8
5.8 6.2
6.2
SCoE 9.4 7.7 7.4 7.7 5.8 6.2
€690b
in Europe today, but will this be the
case in 2020 ? €30b in 2013 by 2040
Industry’s achievement of cost- The need for a politically backed master plan for offshore
grid infrastructure at the national and European level is
competitiveness critical, in order to ensure cost-effective grid investment
and connection.
Cost reductions, both in magnitude and timeliness,
should be achieved to secure widespread acceptance by
consumers, investors and politicians in the long run. While Address planning system issues
the clock is ticking, industry is giving signs that it is ready
to deliver, but it requires a long-term stable regulatory Heavy regulatory requirements affect the development
framework that ensures its efforts are not stalled. of offshore wind projects. As they often require years to
complete, procedures - such as the selection of offshore
wind zones or the assessment of offshore wind farms -
Ensure a stable regulatory framework often lead to major delays in project timelines.
Planning and permission procedures should be simplified
As a young industry in its quest for cost-competitiveness, to enhance efficiency, and issues that affect the timely
the offshore wind market is still policy-driven, depending deployment of projects should be clearly identified and
on public support schemes. Perhaps more than other addressed.
renewables, it depends to a great extent on the reliability of
regulation and the stability of political support.
There is a blank page in the book of opportunities to 2030. Face supply and logistics challenges
While it is clear that there is no appetite for national binding
targets for renewables, the EU should encourage ambitious The realization of the potential for offshore wind
national pledges secured by a clear governance, with strong development depends on the capacity to overcome supply
incentives that signal long-term certainty and promote chain and logistics challenges. In some European countries
regional approaches. Nowhere more than in a shared sea, (Germany, UK), offshore wind market development may be
working with neighboring countries is this essential. challenged not only by component unavailability (turbines,
foundations, cables), but also by a need for construction
facilities and ports as well as installation equipment
Improve access to finance (especially installation vessels).
In this context, providing a favorable economic
The introduction of financing instruments directed to the environment to key industrial players and addressing
offshore wind sector could facilitate the development availability of construction ports emerge as strategic
of projects. For instance, the implementation of loan actions.
guarantee instruments might facilitate private sector
involvement and improve the financing of offshore wind
projects by significantly reducing the risk for investors. Support innovation and training and
enhance synergies to reduce costs
Ensure cost-effective grid investment
Greater competition is considered as a driver to reduce
and connection costs, and maximizing the synergies between stakeholders
(industries, public authorities, etc.) is a key factor.
The development of a fully integrated European electricity
Policy makers are required to promote partnerships and
network to transmit the large amounts of low-cost, carbon-
encourage trans-regional cooperation. It is especially
free power generated offshore where it is needed, is a
crucial in the fields of research and technological
critical step towards widespread offshore to wind energy
development and training, as focusing on R&D efforts and
deployment.
ensuring sufficient workforce capacity are powerful levers
Network upgrades as well as infrastructure investments for cost-effectiveness.
in most European countries stand out as necessary
Addressing these crucial challenges will be key in ensuring
measures, especially regarding large offshore projects.
a sustainable development of the offshore wind industry.
In line with EY’s commitment to minimize its impact on the environment, this documenthas been
printed on paper with a high recycled content.
This material has been prepared for general informational purposes only and it is not intended to be
relied upon as accounting, tax, or other professional advice. Please refer to your advisors for specific
advice.
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