Of the total offshore wind capacity connected in European waters, 86.1% were in the North Sea, 9.2% in the Baltic Sea, and 4.7% in the Irish Sea.
Last year alone, 14 projects were completed bringing Europe’s total offshore wind capacity to 11,027MW.
Germany was the largest contributor with 2,282MW of grid-connected offshore wind projects, followed by the UK and the Netherlands which added 556MW and 180MW offshore wind capacity respectively.
The investments in the European offshore wind industry double last year to €13.3bn.
European Wind Energy Association CEO Giles Dickson said: "New capacity additions will be lower in 2016 than 2015 though should then rebound, and we can expect to have over 20GW offshore wind in Europe by 2020. The real question is what happens after 2020.
"The industry is making real progress in reducing costs. But we need Governments to give us a clear vision of the volumes they envisage long term and the regulatory framework they’ll apply to drive the necessary investments. Active collaboration between governments is also key: to align their efforts to develop the sector in the North Sea and Baltic."
Siemens remained the top offshore wind turbine supplier in terms of net annual installations, with
1,816.4MW of new capacity connected and a 60% market share.
