UK second largest market for new offshore wind installations

Globally, an additional 200GW of new offshore wind energy capacity is forecast to be added by 2030

The UK was the second largest offshore wind market based on new installations last year.

That’s according to new analysis from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), which suggests while the European offshore market is forecast to “remain flat” in the short term, the Offshore Wind Sector Deal in the UK provides a “stable outlook”.

Led jointly by the government and industry, the Sector Deal aims to ensure offshore wind provides a third of the UK’s electricity by 2030 while doubling the number of women working in the industry.

Globally, an additional 200GW of new offshore wind energy capacity is forecast to be added by 2030.

The report adds the market has grown by an average of 21% every year since 2013, with total installations of 23GW.

More than 4GW of new capacity was installed each year in 2017 and 2018, making up 8% of the total new installations during both years.

China was the largest offshore market in 2018 based on new installations for the first time, followed by the UK and Germany.

Key market growths in Asia also include Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, India and South Korea, with total installed capacity for the region forecast at 100GW by 2030.

In the US, the first installation of large-scale offshore wind projects is expected between 2021 and 2023, bringing total installations to 2GW by 2025.

Alastair Dutton, Chair of the Global Offshore Wind Task Force at GWEC said: “The industry is continuing to make significant strides on cost-competitiveness, with an average LCOE [levelised cost of energy] of $50 (£39/MWh being within reach. This achievement increases the attractiveness of offshore wind in mature markets where a number of governments are discussing long term climate targets that, if they are to be achieved, must seriously consider the contribution large-scale offshore wind can make.

“New offshore markets represent significant potential and if industry and governments can work together, as we have seen recently in the case of Taiwan, we can build the necessary policy frameworks at greater speed to ensure growth can be achieved sooner than later.”

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