Abstract: China has rich offshore wind energy resources, and the development of its offshore wind power is in the key stage from coastal zones to pelagic zones, from shallow water to deep water, and from start-up to large-scale development. Europe is the pioneer of the offshore wind power industry and the world’s largest market in this regard, which has accumulated rich experience in offshore wind power development and can provide an important reference for the development of China’s offshore wind power. Therefore, three major European offshore wind power countries, i.e., the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Germany, are taken as examples for analysis in this paper. First, the planning mechanism and its advantages and disadvantages are comparatively analyzed from the aspects of the major responsible parties of planning and their responsibility as well as the planning process. Then, the typical incentive strategies adopted by Europe to promote the development of offshore wind power are analyzed, and the characteristics and implementation experience of different incentive strategies are studied according to the specific situation of the three countries. Finally, considering the European experience and China’s national conditions, some suggestions concerning planning mechanisms and incentive strategies are put forward to promote the development of China’s offshore wind power.

Key words: offshore wind power, planning mechanism, incentive policies, financing mechanism, development experience