Europe Remains Committed to Growing Offshore Wind Energy

Europe remains an important market for offshore wind with rising relevance over the next few decades as it moves towards meeting its carbon emission reduction goals and increasing its energy independence. This contrasts sharply with the United States' path following President Trump's executive order on January 20, 2025, withdrawing all areas of the U.S. outer continental shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing, which was a significant setback for the U.S. offshore wind industry.

Key Highlights

-- Offshore wind represents a key part of Europe's goal to transition to renewable electricity sources and to achieve energy independence.
-- The European offshore wind industry has grown significantly to 35 GW of installed generation by the first half of 2024.
-- Some developers may be able to get offshore wind projects off the ground without any government support, through a negative bidding process.
-- However, there will likely be greater government support to initiate offshore wind projects, including through CFDs.
-- Increased demand is leading to an increasing backlog of the main European wind turbine manufacturers.
-- Growth of the offshore wind market will likely depend on the increased size of the industry and the scale of the players, leading to increased competition from companies providing operating and maintenance services to existing wind projects.

"Offshore wind has higher complexity than other renewable sources such as onshore wind and solar projects," says Laura Gutierrez, Assistant Vice President, Corporate Ratings. "As Europe continues to develop and grow its offshore wind industry, we should see developers continue learning lessons and developing best practices to improve the execution of new projects."