Germany will become the world’s leading market for annual offshore wind turbine installations in 2015, with the country set to add 2,071MW this year, an almost fourfold increase from the 529MW added in 2014, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.
The company’s latest report, Wind Regains Momentum in 2014 and Industry Outlook Improves, states that global annual offshore wind installations will more than double, from 1,681MW in 2014 to 3,903MW in 2015, with a dip to 3,255MW forecast for 2016. UK additions will remain relatively steady, decreasing marginally from 813MW in 2014 to 801MW in 2015. Furthermore, the UK will slip down to third place in the rankings, as China surges into second position with 817MW in 2015. Germany’s huge increase in offshore installations is attributable to several offshore wind projects scheduled to come online in 2015. China is also planning an array of offshore wind projects this year, which will see it overtake the UK for annual installations. Additionally, the next few years will see China maintain its annual offshore wind installations around the 1GW mark, while the UK will observe relatively lower installations until 2018, when the country’s next offshore growth spurt is expected. In terms of company share, Siemens remained the market leader in 2014 with an offshore order intake of 690MW, followed by Areva with 350MW, according to GlobalData.