According to the latest data from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, 6 GW of offshore wind power will be added globally in 2020, of which China has been the world leader in offshore wind power installed capacity for the third consecutive year , The annual increase of more than 3 GW, accounting for half of the global total increase.

It is closely followed by the Netherlands, which will add 1.5 GW of installed capacity in 2020. In addition, European markets such as Belgium, the United Kingdom and Germany have newly added approximately 706 MW, 483 MW and 237 MW of offshore wind power installations respectively. Unfavorable conditions and short-term project pipelines have slowed down growth in Germany.

Outside of China and Europe, South Korea and the United States have installed 60 MW and 12 MW of offshore wind power capacity respectively. It is worth mentioning that in 2020, Portugal installed 17 MW of floating offshore wind energy.

By the end of 2020, the global installed capacity of offshore wind power has reached 35.19 GW, an increase of 106% in the past five years. The UK accounts for 29% of the total global production capacity, followed by China and Germany, which account for 28.12% and 21.96% respectively.

Alastair Dutton, head of the GWEC Global Offshore Wind Energy Working Group, said: “The current global offshore wind energy has helped the whole society avoid 62.5 million tons of carbon emissions, which is equivalent to reducing the driving of 20 million cars. The current installed capacity of offshore wind power is already in place. Approximately 700,000 jobs are provided worldwide."

Zhao Feng, head of market intelligence and strategy at GWEC, said: "The continued growth of the global offshore wind industry throughout the pandemic is a testament to the resilience of this booming industry. Although China was first hit by the COVID-19 crisis, it has The impact is minimal. China is expected to continue its record growth by 2021, thanks to China’s feed-in tariff subsidies that will expire at the end of this year, and offshore projects are scheduled to be completed before the deadline."

The Asia-Pacific region will play a key role in driving the growth of the industry, and Japan and South Korea have recently set ambitious offshore wind power targets. As the Biden administration aims to accelerate the development of the offshore wind power industry, the United States will also become an important market.

In November 2020, the European Commission issued a strategy to help achieve the EU's climate neutrality goal by 2050. The plan proposes to increase the installed capacity of offshore wind power in Europe from the existing 12 GW to 60 GW by 2030, and to 300 GW by 2050.

According to Rystad Energy's analysis, by 2030, the demand for offshore wind power practitioners will triple, from 297,000 in 2020 to 868,000 full-time jobs.

Article information source-cable network