A 2030 Vision for European Offshore Wind Ports: Trends and Opportunities

The EU goal of climate neutrality by 2050 requires a 25 times increase in offshore wind. Already in the next 10 years the volume of offshore wind in Europe needs to rise from 25 GW to over 110 GW.

Ports are central to the development of offshore wind. They play a key role for the local supply chain, logistics and supporting infrastructure (e.g. storage of components). Ports are where operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms are run, where all offshore windturbines and other equipment get …

The EU goal of climate neutrality by 2050 requires a 25 times increase in offshore wind. Already in the next 10 years the volume of offshore wind in Europe needs to rise from 25 GW to over 110 GW.

Ports are central to the development of offshore wind. They play a key role for the local supply chain, logistics and supporting infrastructure (e.g. storage of components). Ports are where operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms are run, where all offshore windturbines and other equipment get transported, and where floating turbines are assembled. And they will have a prominent role in the production and distribution of renewable hydrogen. But ports can only deliver those services if they make significant investments to upgrade and expand their infrastructure.

Europe’s ports need to invest €6.5bn between now and 2030 to support the expansion of offshore wind. This investment could be paid back in just five years and would bring significant savings for electricity consumers and society as a whole.