Page 4 - AfrElec Week 38 2022

AfrElec COMMENTARY AfrElec

Offshore goals are sky-rocketing

GLOBAL GLOBAL offshore wind goals are accelerating generally by 2030. Again, to give an idea of the
as the energy transition continues. A global goal ramp-up, only 42 MW is currently installed off
of 380 GW of offshore wind in 2030 has been the US shore.
set by stakeholders just days after the Dutch gov- Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and
ernment set a goal of 70 GW by 2050 and nine Energy Terje Aasland said: “Norway has high
‘North Sea’ countries agreed to collaborate to ambitions for offshore wind. With our offshore
install at least 260 GW of offshore wind by 2050. oil and gas and maritime experience, our com-
To give an idea of the scale, only 57 GW had panies can play an important role in developing
been installed worldwide as of 2021, said the floating offshore wind. International co-opera-
Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). The tion is essential if we shall succeed.”
announced 380-GW goal is actually relatively Francesco La Camera, Director-General of
modest. For example, the EU countries have a IRENA, said: “Energy security and the brutal
300-GW goal for 2050. And BloombergNEF, in a energy crisis are forcing us to re-evaluate our
study released in August, projected that offshore world. Offshore wind technology is the gateway
wind installed base globally is set to grow tenfold to new sites leveraging high-wind resources.”
to 504 GW in 2035. Stig Pastwa, chief operating officer at Copen-
The multi-stakeholder alliance said its goal hagen Infrastructure Partners, said: “We need
will increase installed global offshore wind pace, predictability and faster permitting from
capacity by 670%. all involved players to make the needed pro-
Offshore wind has enormous untapped gress – and I hope that we can leverage GOWA
potential to drive the global energy transition as a joint public-private partnership to ensure
and tackle the climate and energy crises, said action.”
GWEC as the Global Offshore Wind Alliance Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC, said:
(GOWA) was announced. “Dependence on volatile fossil fuels has created
It will be formally launched later this year energy security and cost of living crises while
with a goal of 35 GW on average each year across driving runaway global heating. With offshore
the 2020s and a minimum of 70 GW each year wind, the world has an effective solution for
from 2030, culminating in 2,000 GW by 2050. adding large amounts of zero-carbon power at
The collaborators include GWEC, Denmark, affordable costs, while creating jobs and new
the US and other governments, the International investments in industry and infrastructure all
Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and indus- around the world.”
try members. Meanwhile, the Dutch cabinet has today set
A huge leap forward is urgently required. a 70-GW offshore wind target for 2050. Climate
According to forecasts by IRENA and the Inter- and Energy Minister Rob Jetten said: “Earlier
national Energy Agency (IEA), a massive 2,000 this year, we made firm plans for 2030. We are
GW of installed offshore wind capacity will be now also laying down an ambitious plan up to
needed to keep the goal of limiting global tem- 2050.”
peratures to 1.5°C and achieve net zero by 2050. Some of the offshore wind could be used
Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and for making hydrogen at sea. The government is
Utilities Dan Jørgensen said: “A massive increase already working towards installing 21 GW by
in energy from offshore wind is key to fighting 2030, about 75% of the current electricity usage
climate change, phasing out fossil fuels and in the Netherlands.
strengthening energy security.” He added: “Den- Additionally, nine ‘North Sea’ countries have
mark became home to the world’s first offshore agreed to work together to build at least 260
wind farm in 1991. We have extensive experi- GW of offshore wind by 2050. This will repre-
ence in the field and a long history of sharing it sent more than 85% of the EU-wide ambition of
with the rest of the world.” reaching 300 GW by 2050 as set out in the EU
For her part, Laura Daniel-Davis, principal strategy for offshore renewable energy.
deputy assistant secretary of land and minerals “The urgency of action has been reinforced
management at the US Department of the Inte- by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and the
rior, said: “While each country needs to take its consequential energy prices and security of sup-
own domestic action to address climate change, ply crises,” said a joint statement. “Developing
the current crisis requires us to all work together our common offshore renewable resources will
to make meaningful progress. It’s through col- reduce regional reliance on imported fossil fuels
laboration that we can build a more sustainable through strengthened energy regional self-suf-
future for everyone.” ficiency, as well as necessarily speeding up the
The US has just released a goal of 15 GW of transition towards a green and resilient energy
floating wind by 2035, putting it on a par with system.”
Europe and Asia. Some time ago, the administra- The nine countries are: Belgium, Denmark,
tion of US President Joe Biden had announced France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Neth-
a goal of 30 GW of offshore wind projects erlands, Norway and Sweden.™

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