Europe powered by green energy

Wind and solar energy have become less expensive as a result of large scale deployment and as a result of a period of great political push for renewables. Renewable energy targets and economic support from governments have provided the necessary scale and clarity on buildout ambitions. This allowed the green energy industry to take up the challenge, to invest, invent and bring down costs.

This also goes for offshore wind, a technology which until a few years ago was largely unknown or regarded as rather exotic and costly by policy makers and the public.

But the unprecedented recent cost reductions have changed all that. In 2012, the industry promised to drive costs for contracted wind farms below EUR 100 per MWh before 2020. This goal was reached and surpassed well ahead of time – costs of energy actually dropped to EUR 65 per MWh in just six years.

For example, in 2011, Ørsted committed to building West of Duddon Sands wind farm in the UK, with a projected cost of electricity of EUR 177 per MWh. Six years later, in 2017, we committed to building the Hornsea 2 project with an expected cost of energy of only EUR 65 per MWh – equal to a 63% cost reduction.

In Germany (April 2017 and April 2018) and in the Netherlands (March 2018), where transmission costs are excluded from the projects, contracts were granted without subsidies at all.

Offshore wind power is now among technologies that offer cost effective and scalable renewable energy, alongside onshore wind and solar power. This development has enormous potential to change Europe’s energy system, by turning the seas into green power plants. Rapidly falling cost means renewable energy offers a foundation on which Europe’s green economy can be built.

Abundant, domestic and cost efficient renewable energy offers the key to many of the societal ambitions of European countries. A key to maintaining a modern and competitive economy; a key to Europe continuing to take on its global responsibility and combat climate change; a key to a Europe less dependent on imported fossil energy and a key to reducing the negative health and environmental impacts of burning fossil fuels.

Several renewable technologies are already contributing to Europe’s energy system and will play a role going forward. Of these, none today offer both the scalability and cost-efficiency of solar, onshore and offshore wind power to sustain an accelerated transformation and become the backbone of the European energy system.

In 2017, these three alone made up 77% of new European power generation capacity Citation Wind Europe, Wind in Power 2017 .

By 2040, European power production from solar, onshore and offshore wind is expected to grow by 190% compared to today, whereas other renewable sources are projected 35% growth Citation IEA, World Energy Outlook 2017 (NPS). .

Development on the scale required, however, depends on a strong and open transmission grid to integrate and transmit the energy to European consumers.

There are, however, important differences between these three types of renewable energy: solar, onshore and offshore wind power.

Solar is abundant, especially in Southern Europe. But the production from Europe’s more than 100GW of photovoltaic panels is focused around peak sunlight hours at noon and in the summer months, whereas energy in Northern Europe is needed most in the evenings and during the dark and cold winter months.

Of all the energy sources, onshore wind power is the cheapest when installed on good and windy sites Citation Danish Energy Agency and BNEF. .  And with more powerful winds blowing in the winter months, both onshore and offshore wind power fits the demand profile of Northern Europe. But with more than 150GW of onshore wind power installed, further buildout is often hindered by space limitations and local opposition to visual impacts and noise emission in typically densely populated Europe.

Offshore wind power, with 16GW installed in Europe today, is not limited by space restrictions. And since the wind blows stronger at sea, a higher amount of energy can be produced per turbine. The so-called capacity factor (measuring the actual output as a share of total output capacity over a period of time) is in some cases twice that of onshore wind power. It also means offshore wind generation feeds electricity into the grid more often, as offshore winds blow more consistently. For example, the total fleet of offshore wind farms in Denmark generates electricity 98% of the time Citation Energinet. .

Read our latest whitepaper

Taking action to stay within 1.5ºC. Replacing fossil fuels with green energy is the main lever to combat climate change. Learn more about the actions we need to take to transform the global energy system.

Read the paper

This makes a compelling case for an ambitious buildout of offshore wind power. It can provide a domestic, renewable and affordable energy source for an increasing share of European energy consumption.

Furthermore, it would consolidate Europe as the centre for a global industrial complex, with offshore wind energy encompassing a significant proportion of the more than 260,000 Europeans who, according to Wind Europe, are either directly or indirectly employed in the wind energy sectorCitation Deloitte for Wind Europe, Local impact, Global Leadership..

Already today, offshore wind is revitalising coastal areas around the North Seas, that have suffered from years of economic decline. Offshore wind creates local jobs, e.g. in constructing and operating port facilities, building turbine components and foundations and in the construction of wind farms and transmission lines. And as offshore wind farms are built to last 25 years or more, each wind farm is a long term engagement, creating local and regional jobs in operation and maintenance for many years.

      Continue to

The North European potential