Assuming the financial crisis does not blow the offshore wind industry off course, 2010 will be a defining year for the offshore wind power market in Europe. Over 1000MW (1GW) is expected
to be installed. Depending on the amount of wind power installed onshore, it looks as if Europe’s 2010 offshore market could make up approximately 10% of Europe’s total annual wind market, making the offshore industry a significant mainstream energy player in its
own right [24]. Prospects for 2015 look bright, with a total of more than 37GW planned, as seen in Table 4. One critical element for an acceleration of the development of offshore wind energy in the EU is the rapid publication of the Commission’s blueprint for a North Sea grid, the Baltic interconnection plan, and the Mediterranean ring [7].