Perspectives on offshore wind farms development in chosen countries of European Union

Abstract

At the end of 2016 there were 84 wind farms under construction in 11 European countries. Investments in this sector are enormous. The average cost of a wind farm construction amounts to approx. 4 mln EUR per 1 MW of installed power. Offshore wind energy production also plays a significant role in the process of ensuring energy security in Europe, and in reduction of greenhouse gases. The objective of this paper is to present prospects of offshore wind energy farms development in the leading member states of the European Union as regards this problem. In this paper offshore wind farms in Germany and Denmark have been studied. In the paper the power of wind farms, the support systems as well as criteria related to location of wind farm offshore have been analysed. German and Danish sectors of offshore wind energy are strongly supported by respective governments. Both countries aim at yearly increase of wind energy share in total energy production. The research has been conducted based on the analysis of acts, regulations, the subject's literature and information from websites.