RES Scenario in the European Union - The Sustainability of Renewable Energy in Europe - page 45

Table 2.6 Cumulative
installed offshore wind power
capacity in 2012 (MW).
(Source: EurObservurO and
ENEA 2013)

2011 2012

UK 1838.0 2679.0

Denmark 817.5 921.9

Belgium 195.0 380.0

Germany 200.3 280.3

The
Netherlands

228.0 228.0

Sweden 163.4 163.4

Finland 26.0 26.0

Ireland 25.2 25.2

Portugal 2.0 2.0

Total EU 27 3549.4 4705.8

power connected to the network compared to 2011. According to the European
Wind Energy Association (EWEA), offshore power's increase is mainly due to new
plants put into operation in the UK that have brought the cumulative offshore ca-
pacity in the UK to 2679 MW at the end of 2012. Denmark is the country's second
largest producer of offshore wind, with a total installed capacity in the late 2012 at
around 912.9 MW (Table 2.6 ).
Although the EU wind energy market in 2012 has exceeded expectations, pros-
pects for growth in the short term are less encouraging. Among the causes, the
political uncertainty that is characterizing the EU has led a number of countries to
review their incentive systems or not to provide sufficient guarantees to investors in
the coming years. In fact, during 2013 in the EU, 28 have been installed 11,159 MW
of new wind energy capacity, a decrease of 8 % compared to 2012. This is what
emerges from the report wind power in 2013 published by EWEA, which empha-
sizes that previously healthy markets such as those of Spain, Italy, and France have
recorded very substantial declines compared to 2012: − 84 %, − 65 % and − 24 %.
This has resulted in a change in the distribution of the plants which in 2013, unlike
in previous years, have focused mainly on just two countries, Germany and the
UK, with 46% of new installations. Despite the sharp decline, annual wind power
installations in the EU have increased steadily over the past 13 years from 3.2 GW
in 2000 to 11 GW in 2013, a compound annual growth rate of over 10 % (EWEA
2014 ; Table 2.7 ).
With reference to PV energy systems, they play a key role in the transition to a
low-carbon energy supply of carbon. This potential has led to the development of
efficient PV panels and transformed the area into one of the fastest growing indus-
tries. The production of PV cells and modules increased from 46 MW in 1990 to
38.5 GW in 2012. The plants statistically documented all over the world represent-
ing almost 100 GW in 2012, putting the EU in a position of advantage with its share
of over 69 GW. Actually, the market is shifting towards Asia and America, although
the EU remains the main area of installation, the internal market is slowing down
for the first time since 2006. In 2012, the EU accounted for just over half the world