Page 42: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (July 2020)

offsHore wind

Offshore Wind: the trillion Dollar Business

Photo: Ørsted

GROWiNG, WitH HuGe POteNtiaL

Offshore wind represents just a small

Globally, the total installed energy capacity for both onshore piece of the world’s energy supply, but and offshore wind farms at the end of 2019 totaled 651 giga- that’s changing faster than ever before as watts (GW), or about 10% of global electricity generating ca- new and existing players look to tap the pacity, according to the WER report. While just 25.5 GW, or huge resource potential being unlocked less than 0.5%, of that installed capacity is currently located by shrinking costs and technological at sea, the rate of new installations offshore has been grow- advances. in the coming decades, the ing at a much faster rate since 2010: 26% compound annual rapidly maturing offshore wind market growth rate (CAGR) compared to 14% for onshore. Even amid is expected to become a trillion-dollar the current coronavirus pandemic, WER expects this trend to business as the pace of installed capacity continue, with 16 GW of additional offshore capacity to be added in 2020 and 2021, driven primarily by ongoing activity growth accelerates, according to World in the well-established Northern European sector as well as the energy Reports’ (WeR) Outlook for Offshore newer, fast-growing Chinese market. China, already the leader

Wind Power: The Frontier of Future Energy, onshore, emerged as a major offshore wind player in 2018 and published last month. has continued to expand its substantial project pipeline.

When comparing onshore wind vs. offshore in terms of un-

By Eric Haun tapped potential, it’s clear that offshore is simply unmatched. 42 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • July 2020