The European offshore wind industry -

key trends and statistics 2015

February 2016

A report by the European Wind Energy Association

 Contents

Contents

Executive summary 3

Annual market in 2015 4

Cumulative market 10

Market outlook for 2016 and 201714

Finance 19

Information presented here uses best information at time of publication and may
include revised data for previous periods.

If you have a query on the distribution or reproduction of this report, please contact
Oliver Joy at EWEA at communication@ewea.org.

Contributors:
Author and Statistical analysis:
Construction analysis Andrew Ho (the European Wind Energy Association, EWEA)
Financial analysis Ariola Mbistrova (EWEA)
Turbine orders analysis Giorgio Corbetta (EWEA)

Editor: Iván Pineda (EWEA)

Review: Kristian Ruby (EWEA)
Data: Clean Energy Pipeline
Photo: Courtesy of A2SEA

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 2
 Executive summary

Executive summary

Offshore wind power • 3,019 MW of net installed, grid-connected capacity was added in 2015, 108%
market in 2015 more than in 2014. A net addition of 754 new offshore wind turbines in 15
wind farms were grid-connected from 1 January to 31 December 2015.
• 419 new turbines were erected in 2015. Seven turbines were
decommissioned in the UK and Sweden, resulting in a net addition of 412
turbines.
• 53 of these turbines equivalent to 277 MW are awaiting grid connection.
• 14 projects were completed in 2015. Work is on-going on six projects in
Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

Cumulative offshore wind • 3,230 turbines are now installed and grid-connected, making a cumulative total
power market of 11,027 MW.
• Including sites under construction, there are 84 offshore wind farms in
11 European countries.
• 80% of substructures are monopiles, 9.1% are gravity foundations, jackets
account for 5.4%, tripods account for 3.6% and tripiles account for 1.7%.

Market outlook • Once completed, the six offshore projects currently under construction will
increase total installed grid-connected capacity by a further 1.9 GW, bringing
the cumulative capacity in Europe to 12.9 GW.

Trends: • The average offshore wind turbine size was 4.2 MW, a 13% increase over
turbines, foundations, 2014. This was due to the increased deployment of 4-6 MW turbines in
water depth and distance 2015.
to shore • The average size of a grid-connected offshore wind farm in 2015 was 337.9
MW, 8.2% less than the previous year. There were some large offshore wind
farms: 576-600 MW sites at Gwynt y Môr and Gemini. However, the majority
of German sites were 288 MW.
• The average water depth of wind farms completed, or partially completed in
2015 was 27.1 m and the average distance to shore was 43.3 km.

Financing highlights and • Ten projects, worth €13.3bn, reached final investment decision (FID), a
developments doubling over 2014. In total 3,034 MW of new capacity reached FID during
2015.
• Total investments for the construction and refinancing of offshore wind farms
and transmission assets hit a record level of €18bn.
• Reduced risk perception for offshore wind projects has led to the emergence
of project bonds as a means of financing. For the first time in 2015, €1.5bn
was raised through project bonds for the construction and refinancing of
offshore wind farms.

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 3
 Annual market in 2015

Annual market in 2015

Offshore wind installations

3,018.5 MW of new offshore wind power capacity was
connected to the grid during 2015 in Europe, a 108.3%
increase over 2014 and the biggest yearly addition to
capacity to date.
• During 2015, work was carried out on 22 offshore
wind farms in Europe.
• 14 utility-scale wind farms were completed.
• Work continued on two other wind farms where
several wind turbines were erected.
• Work has started but no turbines are yet connected
in five other wind farms.
• Two sites had decommissioning of turbines, with a
full decommissioning at the Yttre Stengrund site in
Sweden.

TABLE 1: SUMMARY OF WORK CARRIED OUT AT EUROPEAN OFFSHORE WIND FARMS DURING 2015

Wind farm name Country Status

DanTysk Germany Fully grid-connected H1 2015

Gwynt y Mor United Kingdom Fully grid-connected H1 2015
Humber Gateway United Kingdom Fully grid-connected H1 2015
Meerwind Süd Ost 1
Germany Fully grid-connected H1 2015
Westermost Rough United Kingdom Fully grid-connected H1 2015
Amrumbank West Germany Fully grid-connected
Baltic 2 Germany Fully grid-connected
Borkum Riffgrund I Germany Fully grid-connected
Butendiek Germany Fully grid-connected
Global Tech 1 Germany Fully grid-connected
Luchterduinen Netherlands Fully grid-connected
Nordsee Ost Germany Fully grid-connected
Trianel Windpark Borkum Germany Fully grid-connected
Kentish Flats 2 Extension United Kingdom Fully grid-connected
Westermeerwind Netherlands Partially grid-connected
Gode Wind II Germany Turbines installed
Gemini Netherlands Foundations installed
GodeWind I Germany Foundations installed
Nordsee One Germany Foundations installed
Sandbank Germany Foundations installed
Robin Rigg United Kingdom Turbines decommissioned
Yttre Stengrund Sweden Fully Decommissioned

1 Meerwind Süd Ost was incorrectly cited in 2014 as being fully grid-connected. 15 turbines were grid-connected in 2015. All necessary
changes are reflected for both 2014 and 2015 in this report.

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 4
 Annual market in 2015

Netherlands FIG 1: SHARE OF NET ANNUAL OFFSHORE WIND CAPACITY

180 INSTALLATIONS PER COUNTRY (MW)
5.9%

75.4% of all net capacity brought online was in Germany

UK (2,282.4 MW), a four-fold increase in its grid-connected
566
18.7%
capacity compared to 2014. This was in large part due
to the delay in grid connections finally coming online in
2015 in Germany.
Germany
2,282
75.4%
The second largest market was the UK (566.1 MW, or
18.7% share), followed by the Netherlands (180 MW, or
5.9% share).

TABLE 2: NUMBER OF TURBINES AND MW FULLY CONNECTED TO THE GRID DURING 2015 PER COUNTRY (MW)

Country Germany Netherlands Sweden UK Total

No. of farms 10 2 -1 4 15

No. of turbines connected 546 60 -5 153 754

MW connected to the grid 2,282.4 180 -10 566.1 3,018.5

Baltic Sea Irish Sea FIG 2: SEA BASIN SHARE OF 2015 NET ANNUAL INSTALLATIONS (MW)
278 141
9.2% 4.7%
Of the total 3,018.5 MW connected in European waters,
86.1% were in the North Sea, 9.2% in the Baltic Sea, and
4.7% in the Irish Sea.

North Sea
2,598
86.1%

Annual market share in 2015 - wind turbine manufacturers

FIG 3: WIND TURBINE MANUFACTURERS’ SHARE OF 2015 NET

Senvion
ANNUAL INSTALLATIONS (MW)
271
MHI 8.9%
Vestas Siemens continues to be the top offshore wind turbine
392
12.9% supplier in terms of net annual installations. With
1,816.4 MW of new capacity connected, Siemens
Adwen
550 Siemens
accounts for 60% of the 2015 market.
18.2% 1,816
60%
Adwen (550 MW, 18.2%), MHI Vestas (391.5 MW,
12.9%) and Senvion (270.6 MW, 8.9%) are the other
turbine manufacturers who had turbines grid-connected
in full-scale wind farms during 2015.

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 5
 Annual market in 2015

FIG 4: WIND TURBINE MANUFACTURERS’ SHARE OF 2015 NET

ANNUAL INSTALLATIONS (UNITS CONNECTED)
Senvion
44
5.8%
Similarly, in terms of net grid-connected units, Siemens
remains at the top with 476 turbines of various
Adwen
110 individual turbine capacities (3-6 MW, accounting for
14.5% 62.7% of connected capacity) connected in European
Siemens waters during 2015.
MHI Vestas 476
129 62.7%
17.0% MHI Vestas connected a net total of 129 turbines
(ranging from 3-3.3 MW) representing 17%2.

Adwen connected 110 turbines to the grid, each rated

at 5 MW, representing 14.5% of all turbines connected.
Senvion also connected 44 turbines, with an individual
turbine rating of 6.15 MW, making up 5.8% of grid-
connected turbines in 2015.

Annual market share in 2015 - wind farm developers/owners3

E.ON was the largest developer in the European offshore sector in 2015 with 17.1% of total connections. Combined
with RWE Innogy (344.4 MW, 11.4%), EnBW (288 MW, 9.5%), Stadtwerke München (235.5 MW, 9.5%), DONG
Energy (234 MW, 7.8%), the top 5 developers added 1.6 GW of installed capacity, representing 53.6% of total
installations in 2015.

FIG 5: DEVELOPERS’ SHARE OF 2014 ANNUAL INSTALLATIONS (MW)

E.ON
515
17.1%
Others
1,054
34.9% RWE Innogy
344
11.4%

EnBW
288
9.5%

Vattenfall Stadtwerke
148 München
4.9% 236
7.8%
Trianel DONG Energy
200 234
6.5% 7.8%

2 MHI Vestas numbers factor in two turbines decommissioned at Robin Rigg. Five NEG Micon turbines at Yttre Stengrund are not considered
part of the MHI Vestas portfolio and are recorded seperately.
3 Grid-connected market shares are indicative only. Projects owned or developed by several companies have been split according to their
respective shares. Where the shares are not known, they have been split in equal parts between the partners.

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 6
 Annual market in 2015

Annual market share in 2015 - substructures

Jacket FIG 6: FOUNDATION TYPES’ SHARE OF 2015 ANNUAL MARKET
12
3%
Monopile substructures remained by far the most
popular substructure type in 2015 with a net total of
385 installed (97%), taking into account the seven
monopiles that were decommissioned in the UK and
Sweden.

Monopile
385 12 jacket foundations were also installed, representing
97%
3% of all newly installed substructures.

FIG 7: SHARE OF FOUNDATIONS INSTALLED IN 2015 BY MANUFACTURING COMPANY4

Foundations installed in 2015 were supplied by EEW (41.1%), Sif (34.1%), Bladt (21.6%), Smulders (3.8%), with
decommissioning of AMEC foundations resulting in a decrease in market size by 0.6%

AMEC -3

Smulders 15

Bladt 86

Sif 136

EEW 163

-20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180

Net installation of foundations

4 Shares are calculated according to the actual number of individual foundations installed in 2015. When the project developer contracted
more than one company to manufacture the foundations, and where the respective shares (in case of consortia/joint venture) were not
specified, foundations installed were split in equal parts between the partners. Shares also consider decommissioned infrastructure.

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 7
 Annual market in 2015

Annual market share in 2015 - cables5

FIG 8: SHARE OF INTER-ARRAY CABLE SUPPLIERS TO OFFSHORE
WIND FARMS IN 2015 (NO. OF CABLES, PERCENTAGE)
ABB JDR
39 15
5.2% 2.0% In 2015, 218 inter-array cables manufactured by
Parker Scanrope Prysmian were energised, representing the largest
57
7.6% market share at 28.9%.

Prysmian 198 cables connecting wind turbines manufactured

Nexans 218
104 28.9% by NSW were energised, representing 26.3% of all
13.8% energised cables.

NSW
NKT
198
123 cables manufactured by NKT were also energised
123
16.3% 26.3% (16.3%), together with 104 by Nexans (13.8%), 57 by
Parker Scanrope (7.6%) 39 by ABB (5.2%), and 15 by
JDR (2%)

LS Cable & System

3 FIG 9: SHARE OF EXPORT CABLE SUPPLIERS IN 2015 (NO. OF
6.4% CABLES, PERCENTAGE)

NSW
6 In terms of export cables in 2015, 47 export cables
12.8%
manufactured by Prysmian were energised (44.7% of
ABB
Prysmian all export cables).
21
7 44.7%
14.9%
Ten export cables manufactured by NKT (21.3%), along
NKT with seven from ABB (14.9%). Six from NSW (12.8%),
10
21.3% and three from LS Cable & System (6.4%) completed
the market in 20156.

5 Shares are calculated taking into account the number of grid-connected turbines in each wind farm during 2015 and considers
decommissioned infrastructure.
6 Shares are calculated by taking into account the number of export cables in wind farms fully completed of partially completed.

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 8
 Annual market in 2015

Wind turbine capacity and wind farm size

The average capacity rating of the 754 offshore wind
farms under construction in 2015 was 4.2 MW, 12.9%
larger than in 2014. Larger capacity turbines were
deployed by all manufacturers in 2015.
The average size of wind farms in construction in 2015
was 337.9 MW, an 8.2% decrease from 2014.
The completion of large numbers of German offshore
wind farms designed at 288 MW overall capacity offsets
the completion of the large 576 MW Gwynt y Môr site,
and construction at the 600 MW Gemini offshore wind
farm, affecting the overall average size of sites.

Water depth and distance to shore

The average water depth of offshore wind farms where in 2014 (32.9 km). This reflects the greater share of
work was carried out in 2015 was 27.2 m, slightly more projects that were under construction and completed
than in 2014 (22.4 m). The average distance to shore in Germany, which are sited further from shore when
for those projects was 43.3 km, significantly more than compared with other countries.

FIG 10: WATER DEPTH, DISTANCE TO SHORE AND SIZE OF OFFSHORE WIND FARMS UNDER CONSTRUCTION DURING 2015

120

100
Distance to shore (km)

80

60

40

20

-
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Water depth (m)

United Kingdom Netherlands Germany

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 9
 Cumulative market

Cumulative market
Europe’s cumulative installed capacity at the end of 2015 reached 11,027.3 MW, across a total of 3,230 wind
turbines. Including sites under construction, there are now 84 offshore wind farms in 11 European countries.

With installed capacity now capable of producing approximately 40.6 TWh in a normal wind year, there is enough
electricity from offshore wind to cover 1.5% of the EU’s total electricity consumption7.

FIG 11: CUMULATIVE AND ANNUAL OFFSHORE WIND INSTALLATIONS (MW)

3,500 12,000

11,000
3,000
10,000

9,000
2,500
8,000

Cumulative (MW)
2,000 7,000

6,000
Annual (MW)

1,500 5,000

4,000
1,000
3,000

2,000
500

1,000

0 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Annual - 2.00 5.00 16.8 - 2.80 - 4.00 50.5 170. 276. 89.7 90.0 92.5 318.4 373.5 576.9 882.7 873.5 1165 1567 1446 3018
Cumulative 4.95 6.95 11.9 28.7 28.7 31.5 31.5 35.5 86.0 256.1 532.3 622.0 712.0 804.5 1122 1496 2073 2955 3829 4994 6561 8008 11027

TABLE 3: NUMBER OF WIND FARMS WITH GRID-CONNECTED TURBINES, NO. OF TURBINES CONNECTED AND NO. OF MW FULLY CONNECTED
TO THE GRID AT THE END OF 2015 PER COUNTRY.

Country BE DE DK ES FI IE NL NO PT SE UK Total

No. of farms 5 18 13 1 2 1 6 1 1 5 27 80

No. of turbines 182 792 513 1 9 7 184 1 1 86 1,454 3,230

Capacity
712 3,295 1,271 5 26 25 427 2 2 202 5,061 11,027
installed (MW)

The UK has the largest amount of installed offshore wind capacity in Europe (5,060.5 MW) representing 45.9% of all
installations. Germany follows with 3,294.6 MW (29.9%). With 1,271.3 MW (11.5% of total European installations),
Denmark is third, followed by Belgium (712.2 MW, 6.5%), the Netherlands (426.5 MW, 3.9%), Sweden (201.7 MW,
1.8%), Finland (26 MW), Ireland (25.2 MW), Spain (5 MW), Norway (2 MW) and Portugal (2 MW).

7 The most recent data (2013) for EU 28 final energy consumption of electricity from Eurostat Is 2,770 TWh. Source: Eurostat [nrg_105a],
extracted on 17 January 2016.
The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 10
 Cumulative market

FIG. 12: INSTALLED CAPACITY - CUMULATIVE SHARE BY COUNTRY FIG. 13: INSTALLED WIND TURBINES - CUMULATIVE SHARE BY
COUNTRY

Finland Ireland Finland Ireland

26 26 9 7
0.2% 0.2% 0.3% 0.2%

Sweden Spain Sweden Norway

202 5 86 1
1.8% 0.05% 2.7% 0.03%

Netherlands Portugal Belgium Portugal

427 2 182 1
3.9% 0.02% 5.6% 0.03%

Belgium Norway Netherlands Spain

702 2 184 1
6.5% 0.02% 5.7% 0.03%

Denmark
1,271
UK Denmark UK
11.5%
5,061 513 1,454
45.9% 15.9% 45%
Germany
3,292 Germany
29.9% 792
24.5%

FIG. 14: INSTALLED CAPACITY, CUMULATIVE SHARE BY SEA BASIN In terms of the number of grid-connected wind turbines
in Europe, the UK leads the market with 1,454 turbines
(45%), followed by Germany (792 wind turbines, 24.5%),
Denmark (513 turbines, 15.9%), Belgium (182 turbines,
Atlantic Ocean
0.1% 5.6%), the Netherlands (184 turbines, 5.7%), Sweden
Baltic Sea
(86 turbines, 2.7%), Finland (nine turbines, 0.3%) and
12.9% Ireland (seven turbines). Norway, Portugal, and Spain
all have one wind turbine each.
Irish Sea
17.6% The 11,027.1 MW of offshore wind capacity are mainly
North Sea
69.4% installed in the North Sea (7,656.4 MW, 69.4%).

1,943.2 MW or 17.6% are installed in the Irish Sea, and

1,420.5 MW (12.9%) in the Baltic Sea, and 7 MW in the
Atlantic Ocean.

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 11
 Cumulative market

Cumulative market share: wind turbine manufacturers

FIG. 15: WIND TURBINE MANUFACTURERS’ SHARE AT THE END OF
WinWind GE Renewable Energy
0.5% 0.4% 2015 (PERCENTAGE)
BARD Other
3.6% 0.3%
Adwen Samsung Siemens is the lead offshore wind turbine supplier
5.7% 0.1% in Europe with 63.5% of total installed capacity. MHI
Senvion
7.4% Vestas (18.5%) is the second biggest turbine supplier,
followed by Senvion (7.4%), Adwen (5.7%), and BARD
(3.6%).

Turbine portfolios for GE and Alstom are consolidated

MHI Vestas
18.5% Siemens into GE Renewable Energy following the acquisition
63.5%
of Alstom’s power unit in 2015. Areva and Gamesa
turbines are also consolidated into Adwen.

Other WinWind
1.4% 0.6% FIG. 16: WIND TURBINE MANUFACTURERS’ SHARE AT THE END OF
BARD GE Renewable Energy 2015 (PERCENTAGE)
2.5% 0.5%
Adwen Samsung
In terms of the total number of wind turbines connected
3.9% 0.03% to the grid at the end of 2015, Siemens remains the
Senvion
4.3%
top supplier with 2,059 turbines, accounting for 63.6%
of the market.

MHI Vestas has 750 grid-connected turbines

MHI Vestas representing 23.2% of total turbines, followed by
23% Siemens Senvion (140 turbines, 4.3%), Adwen (127 turbines,
63.6%
3.9%), BARD (80 turbines, 2.5%), WinWind (18 turbines,
0.6%), and GE Renewable Energy with 15 turbines
(0.5%).

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 12
 Cumulative market

Cumulative market share: wind turbine developers/owners

FIG. 17: OWNERS’ SHARE OF INSTALLED CAPACITY (PERCENTAGE)

DONG Energy maintains its position as the biggest

DONG Energy
15.6% owner of offshore wind power in Europe with 15.6% of
Other
31.8% cumulative installations at the end of 2015.
E.ON
9.6%

RWE Innogy E.ON (9.6%), Vattenfall (8.9%), RWE Innogy (6.4%) and
CPDQ 9%
1.4% Stadtwerke München (3.8%) complete the top five
SEAS-NVE developers and owners.
1.5%
EnBW Vattenfall
1.6% 8.8%

ENECO Stadtwerke München

1.7% 3.8%
Iberdrola Ocean Breeze Energy
1.8% 3.6%
Trianel
SSE
1.8%
3.2%
Blackstone Green Investment Bank
2.1% 2.8%

Substructures

FIG. 18: SHARE OF SUBSTRUCTURE TYPES FOR ONLINE WIND

TURBINES END 2015
Tripiles Experimental
55 2
1.7% 0.1% Share of monopiles increased to 80.1%, as did jackets,
Tripods Floating which now account for 5.4% of the 3,313 foundations
120 2
3.6% 0.1%
installed in Europe, a figure which includes those
awaiting turbine installations or grid connections.
Jacket
178
5.4%
Gravity
303
9.1%

Monopiles
2,653
80.1%

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 13
 Market outlook for 2016 and 2017

Market outlook for 2016 and 2017

The volume of new grid-connected installations will be
lower in 2016 than it was in 2015. This is due in part
to the high volume of turbines installed in 2014 that
were only grid-connected in 2015 in Germany; and in
part to the reduced number of project starts in 2015
compared to 2014.
However, turbine orders in 2015 were stronger
than in 2014, presenting an early indication of good
momentum for offshore wind after 2016. Year-on-year
orders grew by 74.5% to 5.1 GW of firm and conditional
orders placed.
Offshore construction work is expected to start at
sites larger than those worked on in 2015, such as
Iberdrola’s Wikinger wind farm in Germany and E.ON’s
Rampion in the UK, meaning that overall average
wind farm sizes will increase in 2016. Average turbine
size will also increase as the industry develops larger
models.
Once completed, the six offshore projects currently
under construction will increase installed capacity by
a further 1.9 GW, bringing the cumulative capacity in
Europe to 12.9 GW. EWEA has identified 26.4 GW of
consented offshore wind farms in Europe that could be
constructed over the next decade. A total of 63.5 GW
of projects are understood to be in the planning phase.

FIG. 19: QUARTERLY OFFSHORE WIND TURBINE ORDERS 2014-2015 (MW)

2,500

2,000

1,500
MW

1,000

500

0
Q1 14 Q2 14 Q3 14 Q4 14 Q1 15 Q2 15 Q3 15 Q4 15

Turbine Orders Trend

FIG. 20: OFFSHORE MARKET: PROJECTS ONLINE, UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND CONSENTED (GW)

70

60

50

40
GW

30

20

10

0
Planned Under consenting Consented Under construction Online
procedure

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 14
 Market outlook for 2016 and 2017

FIG. 21: SHARE OF CONSENTED OFFSHORE CAPACITY PER

COUNTRY (PERCENTAGE OF MW)
Ireland Denmark
3.8% 2%
The UK has the highest share of consented offshore
Belgium Others wind capacity (55%), followed by Germany (26.2%).
4.2% 1.3%

Sweden (7.5%), Belgium (4.2%), Ireland (3.8%) and

Sweden
7.5% Denmark (2%) have the remaining share of consented
sites.

UK
55%
Germany
26.2%

FIG. 22: SHARE OF CONSENTED OFFSHORE WIND FARMS BY SEA

Irish Sea Mediterranean Sea
8.6%
BASIN (PERCENTAGE OF MW)
1%
In the medium term, an analysis of consented wind
farms confirms that the North Sea will remain the main
Baltic Sea region for offshore deployment (78% of total consented
12.4%
capacity) with significant developments also foreseen
in the Irish Sea (8.6% of consented capacity) and in the
North Sea
78% Baltic Sea (12.4%). Whilst consented projects exist in
the Mediterranean, there is no immediate outlook for
deployment.

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 15
 Trends: turbines, water depth and distance to shore

Trends: turbines, water depth

and distance to shore
Wind turbine capacity

Wind turbine capacity has grown 41.1% from 2010 to 2015. In 2015, the average capacity of new wind turbines
installed was 4.2 MW, a significant increase from 3.0 MW in 2010, reflecting a period of continuous development
in turbine technology to increase energy yields at sea.

The deployment of 4-6 MW turbines seen in 2015 will be followed by the gradual introduction of 6-8 MW turbines
closer towards 2018.

FIG. 23: AVERAGE OFFSHORE WIND TURBINE RATED CAPACITY

4.5

3.5

2.5
MW

1.5

0.5

0
1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 16
 Trends: turbines, water depth and distance to shore

Wind farm size

In the last five years, the average wind farm size has more than doubled, from 155.3 MW in 2010 to 337.9 MW in
2015. Multiple consents granted last year in the UK for 1.2 GW sites in the Dogger Bank provide indications for the
scale of offshore wind farms in the longer term.

FIG. 24: AVERAGE SIZE OF OFFSHORE WIND FARM PROJECTS

1,000

900

800

700

600

500
MW

400

300

200

100

0
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
U/C
Consented
Planned

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 17
 Trends: turbines, water depth and distance to shore

Water depth and distance to shore

Offshore wind farms have moved further from shore and into deeper waters. At the end of 2015, the average water
depth of grid-connected wind farms was 27.1 m and the average distance to shore was 43.3 km. This is primarily
the result of increased deployment in Germany during 2015, where sites are an average of 52.6 km from shore.
By comparison, UK projects were on average 9.4 km from the shoreline. Dutch projects were sited at an average
of 31.4 km away from shore.

FIG. 25: AVERAGE WATER DEPTH AND DISTANCE TO SHORE OF ONLINE, UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND CONSENTED WIND FARMS

120

100

80
Distance to shore (km)

60

40

20

(20)
- 10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Water depth (m)

Online Consented Under construction

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 18
 Finance

Finance
Highlights and developments in 2015

The financial markets in 2015 continued to support the
offshore wind sector across a variety of instruments
and actors. The record level of commercial debt that
was raised in 2015 through project finance, green and/
or non-recourse bonds indicates that financial markets
are willing to back well-structured projects.
Ten projects worth €13.3bn in total reached final
investment decision in 2015, compared to €6.5bn,
a doubling from 2014. In total, 3 GW of new gross
capacity were financed across four countries, 66% of
which was in the United Kingdom.

FIG. 27: TOTAL INVESTMENT REQUIREMENT FOR NEW ASSETS 2010-2015

14

12

10 104%
bn EUR

8
46% -10%

6
-27%
-19%
4

0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Investment requirement % y-o-y change

FIG. 28: INVESTMENTS IN THE OFFSHORE WIND SECTOR IN 2015

Construction: Transmission assets
Construction: Offshore wind projects
Total investments in offshore wind in 2015 were more
Refinancing: Offshore wind projects and
than €18bn; this includes investments in construction transmission assets
of offshore wind projects, transmission assets and
refinancing.
1,783
2,987
This makes 2015 a record year in terms of total
committed funds.
€18 bn
worth of investments
in offshore wind
and transmission
assets

13,251

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 19
 Finance

In 2015 the UK had the largest level of investment investment, attracting €19.8bn for the construction of
in new offshore wind farms, at €8.9bn. Cumulatively, new offshore wind projects, or 43% of the total funds
over the last 5 years, Germany has received the most committed to the sector for the same period.

FIG. 29: INVESTMENTS IN NEW OFFSHORE WIND FARMS 2010-2015

Sweden 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Portugal

Denmark

Belgium

Netherlands

United Kingdom

Germany

0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000 18,000 20,000

Investments in new assets (mEUR)

Non-recourse debt

Given the scale of the offshore wind sector in 2015,
project finance remained an important tool in the
market.
€5bn, equivalent to 44% (1.3 GW) of the new gross
capacity was financed on a non-recourse basis. This
is a significant increase from the previous year. As a
trend, offshore wind farms in Germany are completed
utilising project finance. On the corporate finance side,
the UK generally favours on-balance sheet financing.

FIG. 30: CORPORATE FINANCE AND NON-RECOURSE DEBT LEVELS 2010-2015

6,777
7,000
6,362
5,923
6,000
5,026
5,000

4,000
mEUR

3,228 3,181
2,971 2,724
3,000
2,007
2,000
1,464 1,563
1,256
1,000

0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Corporate finance Non-recourse debt

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 20
 Finance

FIG. 31: PROJECT FINANCE TRANSACTIONS 2010-2015

5,000
Nordergründe
111 MW

4,500 Belwind
(Phase 1)
165 MW
Nobelwind
165 MW
4,000

Nordsee One
332 MW
3,500

3,000

Westermost
mEUR

Rough
2,500 210 MW
Veja Mate
Wester- 400 MW
meerwind
2,000
Baltic 1 144 MW
48 MW

1,500
Meerwind Walney Gemini Galloper
Borkum 288 MW 367 MW 600 MW 336 MW
West 2 London Array
200 MW 630 MW
1,000
Northwind
216 MW

500
C-Power2 Global Lincs
295 MW Tech 1 270 MW
Buitendiek
400 MW Gunfleet Sands
288 MW
172 MW
0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Five new projects and one re-financing (Belwind) were
recorded in 2015. The general trend of easing loan terms
continued in 2015, with three factors at play. The liquidity
in the financial markets, the low interest rate environment,
and the considerable experience gained throughout a
decade have all contributed to the competitiveness of
offshore wind in the infrastructure sector.
Commercial banks are willing to take a larger share of
financing. Debt-to-equity ratios remain largely in the
margins of 70:30. However, there is sufficient appetite
from the financial sector to push the margins further on
the debt side, with many international names.
The larger capacity size of projects has increased financing
needs. As a result, multilateral backing remains important
as a form of risk sharing on projects. Notably in 2015,
the European Investment Bank (EIB) directly committed
€817m for offshore wind projects under the European
Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). The EIB has been
involved this year in the financing of Galloper (336 MW),
Nobelwind (165 MW), and Nordergruende (111 MW)
offshore wind farms.
However, certain projects have progressed without
multilateral backing as risks are better understood.
Nordsee One became the first project to be completed
without the presence of any multilateral financial
institution.

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 21
 Finance

Equity finance

The equity markets have remained active, in particular
during the pre-construction phase. In total, 2.8 GW have
been divested in 2015, compared to 1.8 GW divested in
2014. The current trend of increasing project size, cost,
and distance from the shore are all factors that have
contributed to this peak volume of capacity divested as
part of recycling capital. Partnerships are turning into a
key strategy to free up capital from the balance sheets
through the sale of project stakes.

FIG. 32: DIVESTMENTS IN THE OFFSHORE WIND SECTOR

1,751
1,800

1,600

1,400

1,200
Capacity in MW

1,000
824 775
800

600
474
400
274
207 176
200 107

0
Q1 14 Q2 14 Q3 14 Q4 14 Q1 15 Q2 15 Q3 15 Q4 15

Pre-construction Construction Operations

FIG. 33: MARKET SEGMENTATION OF MAJOR EQUITY INVESTORS

IN 2015 Diversified Policy driven
financial services lenders
11% 5%

Independent Institutional
Power producers continue to lift the majority of equity power producer investors
capital in the offshore wind sector. However, due to 4% 10%

the large scale investment and stable income returns,

there is greater interest from the financial services
industry.

The involvement of financial services in equity financing

so far has been mainly limited to assets under Power
producers
construction. 70%

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 22
 Finance

Transaction highlights: project bond issuance

One of the main developments in 2015 was the
diversification of the financial structures employed during
construction and operation project stages. Project bonds
are emerging as a competitive lending tool compared to
the more established sources of corporate debt or project
finance.
The Gode Wind 1 (330 MW) project bond became the
first of its kind issued within the offshore wind sector. The
bond was issued by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) to
finance their 50% stake acquisition from DONG Energy in
the currently under-construction project. The €780m deal
was supported by GIP, an infrastructure fund, with €230m
in equity finance. A group of institutional investors, with
Talanx as cornerstone lender, subscribed to the project
bond.
Later in the year came the refinancing of Meerwind Süd Ost
(288 MW) offshore wind farm. Having previously reached
financial close in 2011, Meerwind Süd Ost is now in the
operational stage. The transaction of €960m provided
windows of opportunity for new investors to emerge.

Transmission assets

2,200 FIG. 34: INVESTMENTS IN TRANSMISSION ASSETS 2011-2015

2,000
Total investment requirements for transmission assets in
1,800
2015 reached €2bn, including refinancing. €1.9bn was
1,600 raised through commercial debt, out of which €1.5bn was
1,400 through bond issuances. In Germany alone, Dutch grid
operator TenneT raised €1bn for DolWin 1 transmission
1,200
mEUR

line through a green bond issuance that was twice

1,000 oversubscribed.
800

600
With the offshore wind sector, transmission lines have also
evolved into a strategic asset class due to their inflation
400
linked, stable revenue streams. Capitalising on this low
200 risk exposure and solid credit quality, transmission asset
- sponsors have been able to utilise the liquidity in the
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 capital markets to finance their transactions.
Total investment requirement
Transaction value

Outlook for 2016

€11bn of estimated financing will be required for 3,052
MW of new capacity in 2016. Several transactions are
already under appraisal or expected to go through final
investment decision in 2016. Projects under appraisal
include Otary Rentel (294 MW) wind farm, Hornsea
Phase 1 (1,200 MW), Hohe See (492 MW), Dudgeon
(402 MW), Beatrice (664 MW), and the refinancing of
Luchterduinen (129 MW).

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 23
 Finance

Offshore
Wind Energy
2017
6 - 8 June 2017
London, UK

The world’s largest

offshore wind energy
conference and exhibition

www.offshorewind2017.com

CO-ORGANISED BY:

The European offshore wind industry - key trends and statistics 2015 24