According to the Global Offshore Wind Power Report 2024 released by the Global Wind Energy Council, with more active policies and financial support, global offshore wind power is expected to break through bottlenecks and achieve sustainable growth, laying the foundation for accelerated expansion in the next decade.
Recently, the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) released the "2024 Global Offshore Wind Power Report" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report"), pointing out that in 2023, the global wind power market will set a record for the second highest annual installed capacity in history with 10.8 GW of new offshore wind power installations, and the market vitality will continue to improve. Among them, China leads the world with a growth rate of 6.3 GW of offshore wind power installations, and the installed capacity of offshore wind power in emerging markets has also accelerated significantly. According to the report, with more active policies and financial support, global offshore wind power is expected to break through bottlenecks and achieve sustainable growth, laying the foundation for accelerated expansion in the next decade.
China continues to lead the world
According to the report, in 2023, 10.8 GW of new offshore wind power capacity will be installed globally, an increase of 24% year-on-year, and the cumulative global offshore wind power capacity will reach a historic 75.2 GW. Among them, China has become the country with the fastest growth rate of offshore wind power installed capacity in the world for the sixth consecutive year, driving the rapid growth of the global offshore wind power market while achieving offshore wind power parity. During the same period, the growth of offshore wind power capacity in European countries has also reached an unprecedented rate, with a total of 3.8 GW of new offshore wind capacity and 11 new offshore wind farms in 2023. Among them, the Netherlands is the fastest-growing country in Europe for offshore wind power, with 1.9 GW of new installed capacity last year. In addition, the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Germany and other countries have new offshore wind power installations. By the end of 2023, the cumulative installed offshore wind power capacity in Asia and Europe reached 41 GW and 34 GW respectively, accounting for more than 99.9% of the world's total offshore wind power capacity in operation. In contrast, the growth rate of offshore wind power installations in North America is slower, and although some offshore wind power projects have started construction in 2023, no new offshore wind turbines have been installed and put into operation. By the end of 2023, the U.S. had only achieved 42 MW of cumulative offshore wind capacity. GWEC forecasts that Asia will maintain its leading position in the global offshore wind market over the next 10 years, driven by strong offshore wind growth in China and other Asian countries, and Latin America is also expected to add new offshore wind capacity.
Open a new era of installed capacity growth
The report predicts that in the next 10 years, if the current policy trend is maintained, the global offshore wind power installed capacity is expected to maintain a steady upward trend, opening a new wave of marine green energy development. According to the report, the global offshore wind power installation is expected to maintain an annual growth rate of 25% by 2028; By 2030, this growth rate may remain at about 15%; By 2029, the world's annual installed capacity is expected to exceed 40 GW of "nodes"; By 2032, it is more likely to break the 60 GW "mark". Overall, the world is expected to add more than 410 GW of offshore wind capacity between 2024 and 2033, and by then, the annual increase in offshore wind capacity will reach about 25%, a significant increase from less than 10% today. In GWEC's view, the reason why offshore wind power can achieve breakthroughs on the basis of the previous is not only that Asia, Europe and other regions have stable growth space, but also because more emerging offshore wind power markets are seeking growth. In 2023, Australia announced the results of the country's first offshore wind project tender, which is expected to start construction of 12 offshore wind projects with a total installed capacity of 25 GW. In Latin America, Brazil, Colombia and other countries are also actively paving the way for the development of offshore wind power, and it is expected that offshore wind power project tenders will be launched soon. Rebecca Williams, Head of Offshore Wind Business at GWEC, said: "In 2023, the world is actively promoting the accelerated development of offshore wind power, and the recognition of offshore wind power from industry to government departments is also increasing, and the demand for industrial decarbonization and downstream applications is also growing rapidly. ”
Downstream demand is strong to broaden the market
The report points out that even though the offshore wind power industry is still facing challenges such as rising costs, insufficient supply chains, and grid access bottlenecks, with the support of various countries and the promotion of the market, the new global investment in offshore wind power will still exceed US$76.7 billion in 2023, setting a new historical record.
Looking to the future, GWEC believes that compared with traditional onshore wind power and photovoltaic power generation, offshore wind power will have more stable energy supply and more potential for continuous and stable hydrogen production, and hydrogen production from offshore wind power may become a new direction for industrial development. The report points out that with the improvement of offshore wind power-related planning and policy frameworks, the market potential of offshore wind power hydrogen production and other green derivatives will be further revealed, and the development of offshore wind power can effectively help the industrial sector with decarbonization difficulties to achieve decarbonization, and the downstream industrial demand will further stimulate the growth of the offshore wind power industry. At the same time, the report predicts that floating offshore wind power, as an emerging technology, is also expected to enter a mature application period around 2030, and the development of deep-sea wind power is expected to accelerate. At present, European countries are expanding their floating technology relatively faster, while China is the country with the fastest growing capacity in the world's floating offshore wind supply chain. However, the report also reminds that although the potential of the offshore wind power market has emerged, from a practical point of view, the offshore wind power industry still faces certain risks in terms of project financing, approval, supply chain and grid access. To this end, it is recommended that governments and the industry should strengthen cooperation to ensure that the set goals become a reality and open up a larger market space in the future.
Original title: Offshore wind power opens a new wave of global growth
Text丨Reporter Li Limin
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Editor丨Yan Zhiqiang