European offshore wind projects confront challenging seas.

• Author: Block, Ben
• Position: EYE ON EARTH - Brief article

Offshore wind energy developers in Europe have found that mastering turbulent seas and harsh weather is more difficult than many expected, especially as facilities are built farther from the coast and rely on larger turbines.

Denmark's Horns Rev 2, the world's largest offshore wind project, was inaugurated last September after two months of weather delays. The London Array, an even more ambitious 1 gigawatt project, is still on track but has neared financial ruin on several occasions. Alpha Ventus, Germany's first offshore wind farm, went on line last summer after a year of delays that led the project's budget to balloon.

"There should be offshore wind by now, but it isn't there yet," said Malte Kreutzfeldt, environment editor of the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung. "It turns out it's a lot more expensive than people thought, a lot more complicated."

Despite the setbacks, several European governments are betting on...