Deep_Water

Chapter 1: Unlocking offshore wind market potential
Estimating the potential
Using only North Sea sites with water over
50m deep as an example, the potential for
deep offshore wind energy is vast. 66% of
the North Sea has a water depth between
50m and 220m and could therefore be used
to deploy the deep offshore designs.
For illustration purposes only, assuming 6
MW wind turbines, the energy produced in
this area could meet today’s EU electricity
consumption four times over.
In 2050, using 10 MW turbines, the energy
produced in this area could meet the EU’s
electricity consumption by even more than
four times over 3 .
If floating turbines in the North Sea alone
can exceed Europe’s demand by this
amount, the potential once suitable areas of
the Atlantic and Mediterranean seas are included
is many times greater.
Portugal has a vast maritime area in the Atlantic,
where winds are particularly strong
and both France and Spain have deep waters
close to shore in both the Mediterranean and
Atlantic seas. There is, therefore, a huge potential
for deep water offshore wind farms.
Moreover, in all three countries, industry is
developing (and testing in the case of Portugal)
deep water concepts. In Malta plans for
a deep water offshore wind farm at Sikka-l
Badja have been drawn up as have plans for
a floating wind farm of the Apulia coast in
Italy, where, in 2008 a scaled-down floating
turbine was tested off the port of Tricase.
Figure 8 map showing sea depth throughout the North Sea and baltic area
Source: ORECCA
3
Source: Electricity consumption for 2050: European Commission Low Carbon Roadmap 2050
16 Deep Water - The next step for offshore wind energy