The global offshore wind industry will see new installations add an enormous 380 GW capacity by 2032 throughout 32 markets, Global Wind Energy Council’s (GWEC) latest report projects.
Global offshore wind capacity in 2022
The Global Offshore Wind Report 2023 indicated that the deployment of offshore wind projects generated 8.8 GW of clean energy capacity in 2022.
GWEC noted that last year’s results marked the industry’s second-best record in history.
It further indicated that three continues and 19 nations hosted a total of 64.3 GW of active global offshore wind capacity by the end of last year. Notably, it contributed a notable 7.1% share in wind energy deployment globally during the same period.
China to lead offshore wind industry
The report also expects China to continuously dominate the global offshore wind industry in 2023.
China defended its dominant position in the industry in 2022 despite the year-on-year drop in its new installations from 21 GW in 2021 to just 5 GW.
Electrek noted that the strong performance in 2021 was primarily due to the feed-in tariff’s (FiT) ending.
APAC will contribute almost 50% of 380GW offshore wind installations by 2032
GWEC predicts the Asia-Pacific region will account for nearly 50% of the estimated 380GW clean energy capacity from offshore wind installations by 2032, Riviera indicated.
“Amassive 380 GW of new offshore wind will be built by 2032 – nearly half of which will come from the Asia-Pacific region, followed by Europe (41%), North America (9%), and Latin America (1%).”
The Global Offshore Wind Report 2023
Remarkably, this major capacity addition will raise the cumulative offshore wind capacity to 447 GW by the end of 2032.
The report emphasized that just a third of this total estimated new capacity will occur from 2023 to 2027 due to contesting market settings. Therefore, the report calls for the industry to boost its investment and expand global engagement to address the roadblocks.
“The offshore wind sector has delivered another year of impressive growth to reinforce last year’s record numbers. This report outlines that the potential is there for record growth every year from now on. This would deliver a transformed, clean, secure energy system – particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.
However, governments and industries across the world will need to work together if this potential is to be realized, while trade and industrial policies will need to focus on partnership and collaboration to deliver investment and growth.
Governments and industry will need to face head-on the challenges the sector faces around supply chain, permitting and policy in order to build future-proof markets.”
GWEC CEO Ben Backwell
See Also:
- Gazelle Wind Power’s floating offshore wind platform could revolutionize the industry
- Australia has opened its first offshore wind to lessen reliance on coal
- France’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm is now fully operational
- China launches the world’s largest rotor diameter offshore wind turbine
- Global floating offshore wind pipeline more than doubled to 185 GW in 2022
It is also worth noting that Wood Mackenzie also forecasts the wind industry to achieve its next TW of deployments in the following eight years, offshoreWIND.biz reported.
The significant expansion of the global wind industry is indeed remarkable. It will aid governments across the world in transitioning to sustainable energy. Moreover, it can also support the growing number of electric vehicles that need a reliable energy source apart from the electrical grid.
