BRUSSELS, June 2 (Prensa Latina) The European continent could have up to 10 gigawatts of wind power from floating facilities by 2030, according to estimates released today by a certified source.
Windeurope, an association promoting wind power generation in that continental region, calculates that the so-called Old Continent now has 113 megawatts (MW) of floating wind turbines, but by 2024, 330 MW are expected to be operating.
He added that Norway is building the world’s largest floating wind farm, Hywind Tampine (88 MW), while France plans to start four small projects of about 30 MW each, expected to be operational within two years.
He explained that until 2030, Greece aspires to have two gigawatts, Spain one to three, and the United Kingdom five.
Similarly, Italy has a target of 3.5 GW at the beginning of the next decade, and Portugal is aiming for up to 2 GW.
According to the source, floating offshore wind energy offers unique opportunities for Europe, where turbines can produce electricity in waters far from the coast and at greater depths than those provided by stationary turbines at the bottom.
This means that this form of generation can be developed in deep marine basins, such as the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, the report said.
Windeurope’s CEO, Giles Dixon, considered that this method was about to take off in Europe in a big way.
“More than 100 megawatts are already in operation. Governments are seeing that they are doing well and that means they can use offshore wind power in deep waters.
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