Global Offshore Wind Capacity will surge to over 234 GW by 2030
According to a new report from the Global Wind Energy Council, Global offshore wind capacity will surge to over 234 GW by 2030 from 29.1 GW at the end of 2019, led by exponential growth in the Asia-Pacific region and continued strong growth in Europe. The report finds that 2019 was the best year on record for offshore wind, with 6.1 GW of new capacity added globally, bringing total global cumulative installations to 29.1 GW. China remains in the number one spot for the second year in a row for new installations, installing a record 2.4 GW, followed by the UK at 1.8 GW and Germany at 1.1 GW. While Europe continues to be the leading region for offshore wind, countries in the Asia-Pacific region, such as Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, and South Korea, as well as the US market are quickly picking up the pace and will be regions of significant growth in the next decade.
GWEC Market Intelligence forecasts that through 2030, more than 205 GW of new offshore wind capacity will be added globally, including at least 6.2 GW of floating offshore wind. This represents a 15 GW increase from the forecasts in GWEC Market Intelligence’s pre-COVID forecast, demonstrating the resilience of the sector to play a major role in powering both the energy transition and a green recovery.
The global offshore market has grown on average by 24 per cent each year since 2013. Europe remains the largest market for offshore wind as of the end of 2019, making up 75 per cent of total global installations. Europe will continue to be a leader in offshore wind, with an ambitious 450 GW goal by 2050 driven by installations in the UK, Netherlands, France, Germany, Denmark and Poland, with several other EU markets posting double-digit volumes.
North America currently has just 30 MW of offshore wind capacity in operation at the end of 2019, but deployment will accelerate in the coming years with 23 GW forecasted to be installed by 2030. The majority of this growth will come from the budding industry in the US, and we can expect to already see utility-scale projects coming online by 2024 in the country.
The report highlights increased activity level in the Asia-Pacific region thanks to increased national ambition, led by China where 52 GW of new offshore wind capacity is expected to be installed by 2030. Taiwan is set to become the second-largest offshore wind market in Asia after Mainland China, with a goal of 5.5 GW by 2025 and an additional 10 GW by 2035. Other markets in the region are also beginning to scale-up their offshore wind markets, with Vietnam, Japan and South Korea expected to install 5.2 GW, 7.2 GW and 12 GW of offshore wind capacity respectively.
Top 5 markets for new offshore installations in 2019
China – 2.4 GW
The UK – 1.8 GW
Germany – 1.1 GW
Denmark – 374 MW
Belgium – 370 MW
Top 5 markets for cumulative offshore installations in 2019
The UK – 9.7 GW
Germany – 7.5 GW
China – 6.8 GW
Denmark – 1.7 GW
Belgium – 1.6 GW
Top 5 markets forecasted for cumulative offshore wind installations by 2030
China – 58.8 GW
The UK – 40.3 GW
US – 22.6 GW
Germany – 20 GW
Netherlands – 11.4 GW
Source : STRATEGIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE