Other countries also have large ambitions

Britain opens this morning the largest wind farm at sea in the world. Located 11 kilometres from the coasts of Kent, in 20 to 25 metres of water, Thanet offshore platform must allow to feed more than 200,000 British households to electricity, with 300 MW at full capacity.

It is one of 15 projects awarded late 2003 by the British Government. As more and more countries, Britain put on this green power to reduce its carbon emissions. It also intends to so compensate the decline of the North Sea oil.

Amount of 780 million pounds (EUR 910 million), the site of Thanet took two years of delay as a result of technical problems on Vestas Wind turbines and has picked up along the way by the Swedish electrician Vattenfall.

With this project, Britain relegates the Denmark second for offshore farms. The country had hitherto the largest site in operation, Horns Rev 2, 209 megawatt capacity. But this new British record is just a start.

A project of 504 megawatts

On port in Esbjerg, Danish coast is the Jylland peninsula, dozens of pods and wind turbine masts are waiting to embark for England. Destination: Greater Gabbard. A 504 megawatts of Scottish Southern Energy and RWE project to install 140 machines Siemens 23 kilometres from the coast of Suffolk. On the port, loading of equipment is spectacular. A pod weighs 125 tonnes and the pole, more than 180 tons. Alone, a pale measures 52 metres long and more than 2 metres high in its widest part. In short, can walk inside.

In the years to come, the activity will intensify off the coast of Britain. Early 2010, the Government has awarded 9 other offshore projects consortia of electricians for a total of 32 GW. "The British offshore market by far is the first of the world." "It is a major objective for us," explains Frank Zimmermann, Chief Financial Officer for Siemens Wind Power. Other countries also have large ambitions. The Germany wishes to install 10 gigawatts of offshore capacity by 2020, and France, 6. Less accessible to Western actors, China is on a volume of 30 gigawatts on the horizon of 2020.

This influx of government projects is covetous in industry. "There are now fifteen of major suppliers in this market, against barely 2 or 3 three years ago", explains Arnaud Bouille, at Ernst & Young. After Siemens, Areva or REpower, actors such as Samsung, Hyundai, General Electric, Gamesa Alstom or Chinese Goldwind announced their arrival on the market

"At the beginning, we have been frightened by the magnitude of the projects." "Today, one wonders if there will be public funding to implement", says an engineer. According to the French administration, the average cost of offshore wind turbine installation amounted to EUR 3.5 million per megawatt in 2009, is 2.5 times more than Earth. Limited (about 1.5 billion euros worldwide in 2009), the market could double this year. "Our offshore wind plants do not have enough room, we need to expand, while those of land-based wind turbines are by overcapacity," said a European manufacturer.