Floating offshore wind capacity may exceed 26 GW by 2032 (Global Offshore Wind Report 2023)
Introduction to floating wind energy around the world
Floating offshore wind energy is still an emerging sector globally, with most interest in projects in Europe and very little penetration in Asia, but it is poised for a boom over the next 10 years.
A recent report - Todayconomy Energy unit obtained a copy - suggested that the cumulative capacity would rise to 26.2 gigawatts of floating wind energy worldwide, compared to only 188 megawatts at the end of last year (2022).
It is expected that a small number of floating offshore wind energy projects will be built during the next 5 years, with a capacity ranging between 100 and 500 MW. This indicates that the sector is still in its infancy, according to the annual report issued by the World Wind Energy Council.
There are currently 5 floating wind farms in various stages of operation or under construction in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Norway, and Japan; This indicates that most emerging projects are concentrated in Europe compared to competing in Asia, according to what was monitored by the Energy Research Unit.
To see the summary and important points of the GWEC 2023 report and download the report PDF, please click on the link below :
The 2023 Global Offshore Wind Report by the GWEC | Summary PDF
Europe loses offshore wind and wins floating
The Asia-Pacific region took first place in the offshore wind sector from Europe for the first time last year (2022), while the European continent remained far superior in the nascent floating sector.
Asia succeeded in installing 34 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by the end of last year, surpassing Europe, which has been on the throne of the sector for many years, after adding 30 gigawatts by the end of 2022.
On the other hand, the capacity of the total floating installations on the European continent reached approximately 171 MW in 2022, equivalent to 91% of global installations, while the Asia-Pacific region accounted for the remaining 9% of the total installations, equivalent to only 16.7 MW.
Floating offshore wind energy has rebounded in Europe over the past year, with Norway announcing a new project with a capacity of 60 megawatts, according to what was monitored by the Energy Research Unit.
The first floating project in Norway
Norway is the owner of the first global floating wind project in 2009, but its capacity at the time did not exceed one megawatt, followed by other projects in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
France and China are preparing to launch projects in the floating offshore wind energy sector with a capacity of 300 megawatts, which are still in the pre-construction stages, with expectations that they will be built later this year (2023) or next year (2024).
China's list of projects includes two projects with a capacity of 4 megawatts and 16.6 megawatts, respectively, and it also includes a two-phase project with a capacity of 100 megawatts southeast of Wanning County, amid expectations that it will become the largest floating offshore wind energy project in the world.
It is noteworthy that last August, Norway witnessed the opening of the largest floating offshore wind farm in the world, consisting of 11 turbines with a capacity of 8.6 megawatts each.
Regions-Forecast Map 2030
10.9 GW of new capacity is expected to be added to the global floating wind sector by 2030, 42% less than last year’s estimate; This explains the difficulties facing some projects, according to the World Wind Council.
80% of the world's floating offshore wind energy potential is concentrated in waters no more than 60 meters deep, but the volume of installed capacity in the sector will not exceed 188 megawatts in 2022.
This volume represents 0.3% of the total installed offshore wind capacity until the end of last year. This indicates that most of the potential of the floating sector has not yet been exploited globally, but its share may rise to 6% by 2032, once all expected projects are installed.
The United Kingdom, Norway, Portugal, China, and Japan are the top five markets for floating offshore wind energy installations, respectively, until 2022, according to what was monitored by the Energy Research Unit.
It is expected that the order of the five largest markets in the sector will change by 2030, to become the United Kingdom, South Korea, China, Portugal, and Norway. This means that Europe continues to dominate new installations, followed by the Asia-Pacific region, with a weak showing for North America.
Annual Installations
8.8 GW of new offshore wind power was injected into the grid last year. The new additions are 58% lower than the bumper year of 2021 but still make 2022 the second-highest year in offshore wind history.
China remained at the forefront of global offshore wind development, even though new installations in 2022 were 70% lower than in 2021
With 2.5 GW of offshore wind capacity in six grid-connected countries in 2022, Europe accounted for the majority of the remaining new capacity, as in the previous year.
The UK has further consolidated its leading position in the European offshore wind market in 2022. As well as bringing the rest closer together
Reference :
Global Offshore Wind - GWEC
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