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Northern Europe plans massive expansion of offshore capacities
The pace of development subsequently will need to acclerate even more to meet 2050 net zero carbon goals. An overview of the expansion targets

Almost all north European countries have adopted offshore wind capacity targets for 2030, signalling a huge expansion of the industry over the next decade.

The commitments total 113 GW, which, if realised, would mean a more than fourfold expansion in ten years from the 24.8 GW in operation at the end of 2020. Of the 113 GW targetted, EU member states account for 70.3 GW, more than 10 GW higher than the EU level goal of 60 GW by 2030.

The most ambitious national target – 40 GW – has been adopted by the UK, which will require the installation of almost 3 GW on average each year over the next decade. While both the scale and speed of the increase present challenges for the industry, in many countries the pipeline of projects at various stages of development exceeds the targets set by government. Post-2030, the sector will have to achieve an even higher pace of development to meet the EU’s goal of 300 GW of offshore wind by 2050. According to the UK’s Committee on Climate Change, the UK‘s offshore wind requirement could be as high as 125 GW by 2050 to meet its net zero carbon target.

Europe's offshore expansion plans

Click on the highlighted countries to learn more

EU

14.594

MW

45.406 MW

(4.541 MW / Annual rate of expansion)

60.000

MW

2020.

. 2030

France

12

MW

8.788 MW

(1.094 MW / Annual rate of expansion)

8.800

MW

2020.

. 2028

Germany

7.728

MW

12.272 MW

(1.227 MW / Annual rate of expansion )

20.000

MW

2020.

. 2030

Poland

0

MW

11.000 MW

(1.100 MW / Annual rate of expansion)

11.000

MW

2020.

. 2030

Lithuania

0

MW

700 MW

(70 MW / Annual rate of expansion)

700

MW

2020.

. 2030

Estonia/Latvia

0

MW

700-
1000 MW

(70-100 MW / Annual rate of expansion)

700-
1000

MW

2020.

. 2030

Estonia/Latvia

0

MW

700-
1000 MW

(70-100 MW / Annual rate of expansion)

700-
1000

MW

2020.

. 2030

Finland

71

MW

no official
expansion targets

2020.

. 2030

Sweden

192

MW

no official
expansion targets

2020.

. 2030

Norway

2

MW

3.498 MW

(350 MW / Annual rate of expansion)

3.500

MW

2020.

. 2030

Denmark

1.703

MW

6.797 MW

(680 MW / Annual rate of expansion)

8.500

MW

2020.

. 2030

Ireland

25

MW

4.975 MW

(497 MW / Annual rate of expansion)

5.000

MW

2020.

. 2030

Great Britain

10.206

MW

29.794 MW

(2.979 MW / Annual rate of expansion)

40.000

MW

2020.

. 2030

Netherlands

2.611

MW

8.889 MW

(889 MW / Annual rate of expansion)

11.500

MW

2020.

. 2030

Belgium

2.262

MW

1.738 MW

(174 MW / Annual rate of expansion)

4.000

MW

2020.

. 2030

Photo credit: © shutterstock.com, Anton Havelaar

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