European offshore wind power is expected to pass a huge milestone this year, with capacity likely to hit 10GW by the end of the year.
According to a report from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), 12 new offshore wind projects currently under construction across the continent could increase installed capacity by 2.9GW, bring the total to 10.9GW.
German construction will be responsible for much of this increase, with the country expected to overtake the UK as the world's biggest installer in 2015.
Justin Wilkes, deputy chief executive officer of the European Wind Energy Association, said:
Germany is set to buck the trend this year. The UK has more installed offshore capacity than the rest of the world combined but this year shows that other countries in the EU are making serious investments in the sector. The nine financial deals closed in 2014, of which 4 were "billion-Euro" projects, suggest that activity will pick up substantially as of 2017 as these projects begin to hit the water.
At the end of 2014 installed capacity in Europe stood at around 8GW, with 74 offshore wind farms in 11 countries.
After a record year in 2013, the industry stabilised last year, with 408 new turbine brought online - adding 1.5GW of capacity.
The UK - which has dominated the European offshore wind market for the last few years - accounted for over half of all new installations, with Germany coming in second.
The latest analysis shows the UK is likely to remain the world leader when it comes to total global capacity in 2015, with nearly 4.5GW.
Like Germany, the country has new projects scheduled for completion in the coming year.
But the country will not commission any major projects in 2016.
Meanwhile, Germany - which currently takes the third spot position after Denmark - is expected to see a boom in construction over the coming year.
Credit: renewable-energy-events.blogspot.com
