Offshore Wind Technology and Status - Structural Integrity of Offshore Wind Turbines - page 24

STATUS OF OFFSHORE WIND INSTALLATIONS
Most offshore turbines are currently located in European waters less than
30 m in depth, in and around the North and Baltic Seas. More than 800 tur-
bines have been installed and connected to the grid in nine countries
(EWEA 2010). The market is continuing to expand, with at least 1 GW
expected to be installed during 2010. Of the hundreds of wind projects that
are navigating some layer of the permitting process, at least 52 have been
given consent and at least 16 are under construction. As of March 2010,
approximately 42 projects had been installed with an estimate of 2,377 MW
in operation (4C Offshore 2010; Alpha Ventus 2010; C-Power NV 2010;
Centrica Energy 2010; DONG Energy 2010a; DONG Energy 2010b; Japan
for Sustainability 2004; NoordzeeWind 2010; Offshore Center Denmark
2010; Prinses Amalia Windpark 2010; Statoil 2010b; Vindpark Vänern
2010; Blue H USA 2009; E.ON UK 2009; EWEA 2009a; Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Denmark 2009; RWE npower renewables 2009; OWE 2008).
Figure 2-7 shows a photograph of the 300-MW Thanet wind farm off
the southeast coast of England. It became the world's largest wind
project when it was commissioned in 2010. (That record was previously
held by the 209-MW Horns Rev II project, commissioned in 2009.)
FIGURE 2-7 300-MW Thanet wind project off the southeast coast of England.
(S OURCE : Vattenfall; photograph by Lavernder Blue.)