Europe added 4.5 gigawatts (GW) of wind energy capacity in the first half of 2018, according to WindEurope figures released Thursday.
"The figure is down on the same period last year (6.1 GW) though is in line with expectations," WindEurope said in a statement.
According to the data, Germany, France and Denmark were the drivers for 3.3 GW of onshore wind, at 1.6 GW, 605 megawatts (MW) and 202 MW, respectively.
In addition, 1.1 GW of offshore wind was generated mainly from the U.K. with 911 MW followed by Belgium with 175 MW and Denmark with 28 MW.
Germany, which plans to install new offshore wind in the second half of the year, has seen the rate of new installations slow down.
Other countries, like Poland, Ukraine and Norway, also need to beef up and speed up their plans for offshore wind, the association said.
"For the whole of 2018, WindEurope expects to see 3.3 GW of new offshore wind and 10.2 GW of onshore wind. This will mean 13.5 GW of new wind capacity in total for the year," WindEurope stated.
WindEurope Chief Policy Officer Pierre Tardieu said the sector is on track for a solid year in new wind farm installations but cautioned that growth is driven by just a handful of markets.
The figures also mask some worrying trends, most notably in France.
"France has installed a lot of new onshore wind this year but have not issued a single new permit for onshore wind in the last eight months because of an administrative issue - which has also resulted in their latest auction being under-subscribed. So there will be a drop-off in their new build now, creating uncertainty in the supply chain," he explained.
By Gulsen Cagatay
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr