Global Offshore Wind Capacity Reaches 83 GW, 100 GW More to Be Awarded in 2025-2026, New Report Says

According to a new market report from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), there are now 83 GW of offshore wind capacity installed globally, with 48 GW more in the construction phase worldwide as of May this year.

“Our report finds that there is now already 83 GW of offshore wind installed worldwide, keeping the lights on for 73 million households, and powering countries’ economic development. There is currently a further 48 GW of offshore wind [under] construction worldwide. With its unique position in the marine space, and ability to produce large amounts of reliable, homegrown power, nations around the world are pushing forward the technology to enhance their energy independence and autonomy”, Rebecca Williams, Deputy CEO at GWEC, is quoted as saying.

New installations in 2024 totalled 8 GW, 26 per cent less than in the previous year, but still the fourth highest year on record for installations, according to GWEC.

Last year saw an additional 56.3 GW of auctioned projects, of which 17.4 GW was allocated in China under the ‘grid-parity’ mechanism and 38.9 GW was awarded via auctions worldwide. Europe auctioned 23.2 GW, the US 8.4 GW, South Korea 3.3 GW, Taiwan 2.7 GW and Japan 1.4 GW, according to the report.

A further 100 GW is expected in the next two years across diverse markets.

“GWEC is seeing greater political support for offshore wind than ever (outside the US). Our report documents important and highly positive progress in a suite of markets across the world, from mature markets, such as the UK, through to “emerging markets” focused on a ‘right first time’ approach such as Poland, Japan, South Korea, The Philippines, Vietnam, Australia and Brazil”, Rebecca Williams said.

The report also points out the challenges in the industry, from infrastructure and supply chain constraints, macroeconomic conditions impacting project economics, slow permitting and auction processes, and policy instability, as well as “rising tide of disinformation”.

“[Adverse] conditions – including the negative policy environment in the US, auction failures in the UK and Denmark, and grid transmission delays in Europe – have led us to downgrade our short-term forecast by 24% compared to our earlier 2024 forecast. In addition, delays in expected commissioning dates in APAC are pushing capacity additions further into the forecast period”, Feng Zhao, Chief Research Officer at GWEC, is quoted as saying.

Global Wind Energy Council’s 2024 global offshore wind outlook for total additions in the 2025-2029 period was 156.72 GW, which has now been downgraded to 118.56 GW.

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