More than 38,000 Offshore Wind Turbines are to Be Installed by 2036

According to a recent study from Skyquest, more than 38,000 large offshore wind turbines will be installed across the global wind turbine foundation market by 2036. Offshore wind turbine installations are set to rapidly grow over the next few years as technology develops, costs decrease, and projects move into deeper waters. A vast majority of offshore wind farms are currently located in shallow waters off the coasts of Northern Europe and China, however, as the industry expands projects are moving into deeper waters, particularly off the coast of North America.  

The average turbine size is predicted to increase from 3 MW today to 6 MW by 2036. The increase in size is required to generate the same amount of power with fewer turbines and reduce the levelized cost of electricity. The falling costs for offshore wind technology and increasing government support for renewable energy, especially in India, China Taiwan, and South Korea, are the major drivers for this growth. In Europe wind turbine foundation market, governments are mandating that an increasing percentage of electricity must come from renewable sources. This has led to large-scale offshore wind projects, such as the planned 2,400 MW Hornsea Project in the UK. Recent reports show that the Asia-Pacific region is also expected to see offshore wind energy significantly grow.  

The largest market for off-shore wind is China, expected to install more than 25,000 MW of capacity by 2025 from 17 GW in 2021. Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan are also predicted to see significant growth in offshore wind energy. 

Samuel Knight Projects Director, Phillip Fleetham, has stated "It’s interesting to see the growth of offshore wind on a global scale and the advances in technology. We are now talking turbine sizes of 15M plus and with the advances of floating offshore wind, it’s truly a fast paced and interesting sector to be involved with. I’ve been fortunate to have worked within the Offshore Wind sector in the UK for a number of years now and to see the likes of the Hornsea and DoggerBank developments taking shape add to this the exciting opportunities Scotwind will bring to the table the UK will be at the forefront of the wind sector, both in terms of developing new technology and MW/GW per hour generation." 
 

Article Source: Yahoo Finance