Crunch may dampen offshore wind boom

LONDON (Reuters) – Europe is set to add about 1,000 megawatts of new wind power capacity in 2010 but tight credit could limit further investment in the low-carbon technology, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) said on Monday.

Eight new wind farms totalling about 577 MW, including 199 offshore wind turbines, were connected to the grid in Europe last year, compared with 373 MW installed during 2008.

The EWEA expects 10 more offshore wind farms to be completed in 2010 but warned of continued difficulty getting finance for large projects.

“Independent project developers, in particular, are still struggling,” EWEA Chief Executive Christian Kjaer said.

Reuters