Global Offshore Wind Portfolio Tops 100GW

The portfolio of global offshore wind projects in operation, under construction or in development grew by over 10% in the last year, according to new data from RenewableUK’s Offshore Wind Project Intelligence.

The new information shows that the global pipeline of offshore wind projects stands at more than 104GW, compared to 95GW from June last year.

The UK holds the first place as the biggest offshore wind market in the world with a portfolio of 35.2GW, followed by Germany with 23.4GW and Taiwan with 8.3GW, which had the biggest addition of 6.7GW in the last 12 months and thus became the largest market outside Europe.

China is positioned fourth with 7.7GW and the USA fifth with 7.5GW, RenewableUK said, adding that the five countries share just under 80% of the global market.

These latest figures do not include the possible extensions of existing wind farms totaling almost 3GW that The Crown Estate recently announced, which could push the UK even further ahead once confirmed next summer.

“Our industry is already delivering for the UK and we want to go further, with offshore wind as the backbone of a clean, reliable and affordable energy system. To achieve this ambition, the industry will invest tens of billions of pounds, creating thousands of skilled jobs and supporting prosperous communities across the UK,” RenewableUK CEO Hugh McNeal said.

“Offshore wind is a global growth opportunity and a major energy source. The sector will be worth over £30bn worldwide by 2030 and UK companies must be ready to seize opportunities in new markets. We are transforming the UK supply chain, as we grow our exports five-fold by 2030.”

According to RenewableUK, the UK offshore wind market could see 30GW of operational capacity installed by 2030, which would lead to doubling of jobs to over 27,000, with investment between 2017 and 2021 expected to total over GBP 18.9 billion.