H1 2017: Flurry of Offshore Wind Activity, But New Asset Financing Plummeted

In the first half of the year, EUR 2.9 billion of new asset financing was made in offshore wind, down from a record high of EUR 14 billion in the same period in 2016, according to WindEurope. 

WindEurope Chief Policy Officer, Pierre Tardieu, said: “On offshore, the level of finance activity is a concern. Although this won’t translate into lower installations for another few years, the industry needs clarity on volumes for the post-2020 period to maintain the current cost reduction trend”.

“Member States should come forward as soon as possible with their National Energy and Climate Plans to 2030. In combination with the three-year auctioning schedule proposed by the European Commission, the national plans will give sorely needed visibility to the wind energy supply chain,” Tardieu added.

In wind energy investments, a total of EUR 8.3bn of new asset financing was made in the first half of the year (EUR 5.4 billion in onshore wind). Again, the trend for market concentration was visible, with 53% of total investments (onshore and offshore) made in Germany and no offshore investments made in the UK, WindEurope stated.

In terms of installations, 6.1GW of new wind energy capacity was installed in Europe in the first half of 2017, with a flurry of activity in offshore wind across 18 projects in four EU Member States (Germany, UK, Belgium and Finland), which saw a total of 1.3GW installed. On land, 4.8GW of wind capacity was installed in the first half of 2017.

“We are on track for a good year in wind capacity installations but growth is driven by a handful of markets. At least ten EU countries have yet to install a single MW so far this year. On onshore wind, the end of UK Renewable Obligation scheme will lead to even greater market concentration in Germany, Spain and France,” Tardieu said.