World Forum Offshore Wind has released its Global Offshore Wind Report 1H 2020. Key highlights from the report:
The global offshore wind market outlook has grown more promising over the past year as governments raise their ambition levels and new countries join the market. With more than 2.5 GW of globally added capacity during the first half of 2020, the offshore wind industry continued to grow despite COVID-19. According to WFO’s report, globally, 10 new offshore wind farms went into operation in UK, China, Germany, Portugal, Belgium and USA. Further, the average size of a newly added offshore wind farm during the first half of 2020 was 254 MW compared to 325 MW in 2019.
Global expansion
Globally installed offshore wind capacity has reached nearly 30 GW by the end of June 2020. According to the report, the second half of 2020 is expected to see continued global build-out of offshore wind capacity. Worldwide, 157 offshore wind farms are currently in operation. Of these, 105 are located in Europe, 50 in Asia, and two in USA.
Top markets
Of all countries, the UK remains the world’s biggest offshore wind market with more than 10 GW of installed capacity of which 714 MW were added during the first half of 2020. Germany retains its second place with a total of 7.7 GW, but only 203 MW of new capacity were added during the first six months of 2020. China is growing rapidly with 1.4 GW of newly installed capacity during the first half of 2020 increasing the total installed capacity to 6.4 GW.
Project construction across countries
On the basis of current projects and capacity under construction, China’s offshore wind sector continues to grow rapidly with a total capacity of 4.6 GW currently under construction, poised to overtake Germany soon. Belgium continues its steady offshore build-out and adds another 487 MW of offshore wind capacity which will take Belgium across the 2 GW threshold. Meanwhile, Germany’s disruptive regulatory changes are reflected by zero construction activities in Germany during the first half of 2020.
Upcoming projects
It is estimated that more than 8 GW of offshore wind capacity is under construction worldwide. About 57 per cent of the global offshore wind capacity is currently being installed in China. As per the capacity tracked in the table below, the average size of projects under construction worldwide is 370 MW.
