London (Platts)--29Jan2013/719 am EST/1219 GMT

European offshore wind developers installed and connected to the grid 293 offshore wind turbines with a combined capacity of 1,165 MW in 2012, 33% more than in 2011, the European Wind Energy Association said.

This brings total offshore wind capacity to 4,995 MW across 55 offshore wind farms in ten European countries, it said Monday.

Overall, the UK remains the leader with nearly 60% of Europe's total offshore capacity, followed by Denmark (18%), Belgium (8%) and Germany (6%), it added.

"Offshore wind power is growing solidly," EWEA policy director Justin Wilkes said. "But solid installation figures do not alter the fact that the wind industry is being hit by political and regulatory instability, the economic crisis, the higher cost of capital and austerity."

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"Europe is a world leader in offshore wind energy and could be creating even more jobs if governments gave greater policy certainty to investors, and resolved grid connection problems," Wilkes added.

The turbines installed in 2012 represent investments of around Eur4 billion ($5.4 billion), the statement said.

Offshore prospects for 2013 and 2014 are positive with 14 offshore projects under construction. This will raise installed capacity by a further 3,300 MW, and bring total offshore capacity in Europe to 8,300 MW, according to the EWEA.

--Andreas Franke, andreas_franke@platts.com
--Edited by Jeremy Lovell, jeremy_lovell@platts.com

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