Offshore wind could generate a third of all EU electricity by 2020

The European Union is aiming to generate a fifth of all its energy from renewable sources by 2020 to lessen reliance on imported oil and gas and meet goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.




Wind power will likely play the major role and could generate up to 16 percent of all EU energy — or a third of all electricity — by 2020, the European Wind Energy Association says.



The industry says this depends on governments helping them make a major push to develop offshore wind farms over the next 20 years. They say it could replace power from older coal-fired electricity stations and help meet Europe's growing energy demand.



Some 57 billion euro will be needed to develop these wind farms, the association says. Another up to 30 billion euro will need to be spent on energy links to transfer the power onshore and link power connectors between European nations, EWEA says.



EWEA chief executive Christian Kjaer warns that potential investors in these projects need firm signals from EU governments to propel the infant industry. He says financiers are ready to pump money into the sector — but want assurances that wind farms will get the links and support they need to provide power to the electricity grid.



Many European nations, such as Germany, already subsidize renewables by guaranteeing a price for wind power fed to the grid.