China was the only nation outside the EU to complete a commercial-scale offshore wind power installation last year, according to data released by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). Only six countries added to their offshore wind capacity in 2012.
The dominance of Europe within the industry continued in 2012, with four EU countries adding just under 1.2GW, representing almost 90% of total new capacity. But GWEC’s data also offers a clear demonstration of China’s offshore wind achievements, despite struggling in the face of delays linked to permitting and grid connection.
China installed 127MW of new offshore wind capacity last year, representing the third-best performance worldwide. The only other Asian nation to install an offshore turbine last year was Japan. However, this was a small, pilot turbine, which added just 0.1MW.
The UK continued to lead the global offshore wind market with 854.2MW of new capacity, followed by Belgium, with 184.5MW. The two other European countries that added to their offshore wind porfolio in 2012 were Germany, with 80.0MW, and Denmark, with 46.8MW.
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