A total of 523.2 MW of offshore wind capacity were fully connected to the grid in Europe in the first half of 2012, the European Wind Energy Association said in a report released Wednesday.
This compares with 348.1 MW installed in first half of 2011. The capacity was connected on eight wind farms, six in UK waters, one in Denmark and one in Germany.
The momentum is likely to continue as a further 647.4 MW of offshore capacity have been built and await connection to the grid, the EWEA said. However, the timing of these connections depends on weather conditions at sea and delays to the requisite grid infrastructure on land being ready.
The EWEA said a total of 4,336 MW of offshore wind was operating as of June 30, up from 3,294 MW a year earlier. This capacity is spread across 56 wind farms in 10 countries. In the first half of 2012 overall, 13 wind farms were under construction in Europe, which, once completed, will add 3,762 MW capacity, the EWEA said.
The UK led the field in the period, connecting 422 MW of offshore wind capacity to the grid and with 2,695 MW of projects underway. Belgium followed with 73.8 MW of new connections, but has much less total capacity, at 148 MW, in the pipeline, the EWEA report said.
Germany and Denmark had 508 MW and 411 MW of offshore wind capacity in the pipeline in the first half of 2012, the EWEA said, but made connections for only 20 MW and 7.2 MW respectively.
