Europe’s Offshore Wind Dreams Face Huge Supply Chain Challenge

Europe’s offshore wind sector faces a herculean effort to build the infrastructure needed to meet the continent’s climate goals.

Almost 500 gigawatts of generation capacity will be deployed across the European Union and neighboring countries, like the UK and Norway, making it the third-biggest energy source by 2050. But those targets will require up to 54,000 kilometers (34,000 miles) of additional transmission lines — enough to circle the planet 1.5 times.

The findings by Europe’s association of transmission system operators, ENTSO-E, highlight a challenge for the region’s supply chains. They are already under strain amid surging inflation, geopolitical issues ...