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AfrElec COMMENTARY AfrElec

Offshore wind to grow

globally to 234GW by 2030

Global offshore wind capacity is to continue growing in
2020 despite COVID-19, writes Richard Lockhart

GLOBAL GLOBAL offshore wind capacity could grow Current snapshot
eightfold over the next 10 years, driven by a Despite Chinese growth, Europe remained the
WHAT: major surge towards green energy in China. largest market for offshore wind in 2019, making
Global offshore wind The Asia-Pacific region is to take over from up 75% of total global installations.
capacity could grow Europe as the centre of the global offshore sector, Europe will continue to be a leader in off-
eightfold 234GW by 2030 driving global expansion to 234GW by 2030. shore wind, with an ambitious 450 GW goal by
The Global Wind Energy Council’s (GWEC) 2050 driven by installations in the UK, Nether-
WHY: Global Offshore Wind Report found that global lands, France, Germany, Denmark and Poland,
The rise is driven by additions of 6.1GW in 2019 were the best ever, with several other EU markets posting dou-
technology development and stressed that 6.6GW would be added in ble-digit volumes.
and Chinese growth 2020, despite the COVID-19 crisis. North America currently has 30 MW of off-
Offshore wind can and is making a major shore wind capacity, but deployment will accel-
WHAT NEXT: contribution to post-COVID economic recov- erate in the coming years with 23 GW forecasted
Offshore wind has ery around the world, with offshore wind being to be installed by 2030. The majority of this
shown its resilience, less impacted by the pandemic than other energy growth will come from the budding industry in
and is expanding to new sectors. the US.
markets worldwide The report said that policy ambition, declin- In Asia, China is expected to have 52 GW of
ing technology costs and international com- new offshore wind capacity by 2030.
mitments to decarbonisation were driving this Taiwan is set to become the second-largest
exponential growth. offshore wind market in Asia behind China,
with a goal of 5.5 GW by 2025 and an additional
Regional dominance 10 GW by 2035.
The UK was the world’s offshore leader at the end Other markets in the region are also begin-
of 2019, with 9.7GW in operation, while China ning to scale-up their offshore wind markets,
stands at 6.8GW. with Vietnam, Japan and South Korea expected
Yet in terms of new additions, China to install 5.2 GW, 7.2 GW and 12 GW of offshore
remained in the number one spot for the second capacity.
year in a row, installing a record 2.4GW, followed In terms of policymaking, the report high-
by the UK at 1.8 GW and Germany at 1.1 GW. lighted that more and more governments were
This means that by the end of the decade in supporting offshore wind.
2030, China is predicted to have raced ahead to “Offshore wind has already proven itself as
52GW, representing 20% of global capacity by an affordable, scalable, zero-carbon technology,
the date, with the UK rising to only 40.3GW. and maximising the growth potential of the
On a regional level, Europe is set lose its cur- industry has depended on collaborative action
rent dominance, with both Asia and the Ameri- between governments and industry for market
cas promising significant growth design, to set clear capacity targets, undertake
While Europe continues to be the lead- forward-looking planning for infrastructure
ing region for offshore wind, countries in the development and workforce requirements,” said
Asia-Pacific region, such as Taiwan, Vietnam, Feng Zhao, GWEC Strategy Director.
Japan, and South Korea, as well as the US mar- The GWEC’s bullish findings, published
ket are quickly picking up the pace and will be nearly five months into the current global lock-
regions of significant growth in the next decade. down, contrast with its March 2020 report on
““Offshore wind is truly going global, as the global wind sector, covering both onshore
governments around the world recognise the and offshore.
role that the technology can play in kickstarting This report was much more hesitant about
post-COVID economic recovery through large- the future, suggesting it was unable to offer any
scale investment, creating jobs and bringing new forecast for the year, saying it was too early
economic development to coastal communities,” to say.
said Ben Backwell, CEO at GWEC. While it highlighted 60.4GW of new offshore

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