Statement on the record offshore expansion in Europe
Statement from Stefan Thimm, Managing Director of the Federal Wind Energy Offshore Association (BWO) on the figures published by WindEurope on the expansion of offshore wind energy in Europe in 2023: A remarkable expansion of offshore wind farm capacity by 4,2 gigawatts, an increase of 40 % compared to the previous year means. The EU alone contributed 3 gigawatts to this growth, a significant jump from the 2,1 gigawatts added in 2022.
“The news is great: last year was a milestone for offshore wind energy in Europe, with more wind turbines connected to the grid than ever before. The increase in investments is equally encouraging. Financing for eight new wind farms reached 30 billion euros, which enabled the development of an additional capacity of nine gigawatts offshore,” says the BWO managing director.
Thimm continued: “If all countries hold their auctions in 2024 as planned, at least 40 gigawatts will be auctioned this year. Along with Denmark, Great Britain, France and the Netherlands, Germany is one of the five countries with the highest auction capacities in the next two years.”
“We should accompany this expansion with industrial policy in order to eliminate possible bottlenecks and to achieve a high proportion of added value and employment in Germany and Europe,” added Thimm. “The BWO has this Recommendations for action published, among other things, for more investments in the ports in Germany, the acceleration of the approval process in the Wind-Sea Act, the recruitment of skilled workers and the bundling of competencies and responsibilities at the federal and state level. “Everyone needs to work together even better across departments.”