Exploring the Offshore Frontier: The Growing Horizon of Wind Energy

Offshore wind resources have a significantly higher energy potential than onshore sites. This abundance can offset the higher costs of installing, operating, and maintaining offshore wind farms [1]. The greater intensity and consistency of offshore winds enable more reliable and consistent energy production, making investments in marine infrastructure economically sustainable in the long term. Additionally, offshore wind farms benefit from larger available spaces, reducing visual and acoustic impacts compared to onshore installations, which contributes to greater public acceptance. This favorable scenario drives technological advancements and the adoption of innovative solutions that can further reduce costs and enhance the energy efficiency of marine wind turbines.

Offshore wind energy offers several advantages over onshore wind energy, including higher wind speeds, greater directional consistency, and lower visual impact. Despite significant challenges related to installation and maintenance costs, these benefits have prompted governments and private companies worldwide to invest substantial resources in developing offshore wind farms. The adoption of advanced solutions, such as floating wind turbines and innovative installation techniques, is making offshore projects more accessible and sustainable. As a result, global offshore wind capacity is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.

Current Global Offshore Wind Capacity

Globally, there are currently 282 operational offshore wind farms, with 158 in Asia, 122 in Europe, and 2 in the United States. Between 2018 and 2023, Siemens Gamesa maintained its leadership in the market with a 26% share, followed by MYSE at 13% and Vestas at 10% [2].

In 2023, the offshore wind sector saw the inauguration of 25 new wind farms, adding a total capacity of 9.8 gigawatts (GW). This brought the global offshore wind capacity to 67.4 GW. China leads the sector with an operational capacity of 31.5 GW. Europe also made significant strides, with France more than doubling its capacity from 482 megawatts (MW) to 978 MW, thanks to the Saint-Brieuc project [3]. Additionally, the largest floating offshore wind farm to date, Hywind Tampen, became operational with a capacity of 88 MW, located approximately 140 km off the Norwegian coast [4]. The year 2023 also marked advancements in turbine capacity, with mainland China installing 16 MW turbines at the Zhangpu Liuao Phase 2 and Pingtan Waihai wind farms [5].

2023: A Year of Challenges and Positive Perspectives

Despite the progress in 2023, the offshore wind industry faced numerous challenges, including rising costs, supply chain difficulties, and delayed, renegotiated or canceled projects [6] [7]. These issues have strained the sector, but expanding offshore wind capacity remains crucial for decarbonizing our economies. Despite these challenges, 2023 saw a positive trend in final investment decisions, with a record 23.8 GW of capacity reaching this milestone. Notable projects that secured final investment decisions in 2023 include the Baltic Power wind farm in Poland [8], Hai Long in Taiwan[9], Revolution Wind in the United States [10], and Hornsea Project Three in the UK [11].

Westwood projects that more than 70 GW of concession capacity will be allocated by 2024, representing a 67% increase over 2023 [2]. This capacity will come from a mix of existing and new markets, such as Australia (at least 9.2 GW), India (4.6 GW), and Portugal (3.5 GW). Additionally, the United States is expected to allocate at least 16.8 GW of capacity, including nearly 2.7 GW from floating offshore wind sites in Oregon.

MESPAC: integrating into the offshore wind landscape

To address the challenges and seize the opportunities on the horizon, MESPAC is dedicated to supporting the energy transition by providing crucial data for the design, development, operations and life-extension of offshore wind farms. By integrating satellite observations with in-situ measurements through AI technologies, MESPAC delivers reliable and accurate data that enhances decision-making in wind farm development, supports design, and facilitates life-extension analysis. Moreover, MESPAC can integrate with traditional in-situ metocean surveys data providers to overcome data gaps and inconsistencies, providing also accelerated results.

If you have a specific metocean data challenge within your project or you want to know more about the MESPAC services, just get in touch with us.

References

[1] National grid. (2022) Onshore vs offshore wind energy: what’s the difference? https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/energy-explained/onshore-vs-offshore-wind-energy#:~:text=An%20average%20onshore%20wind%20turbine,offshore%20average%20of%203.6%20MW.

[2] WFO. (2024) Global Offshore Wind Report  https://wfo-global.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WFO-Report-2024Q1.pdf 

[3] Iberdrola. (2024) Saint-Brieuc: Iberdrola’s first large-scale offshore wind power project in Brittany  https://www.iberdrola.com/about-us/what-we-do/offshore-wind-energy/saint-brieuc-offshore-wind-farm 

[4] Equinor. (2024) Hywind Tampen: the world’s first renewable power for offshore oil and gas https://www.equinor.com/energy/hywind-tampen 

[5] Offshorewind.biz. (2024) World’s First Offshore Wind Farm Using 16 MW Turbines Enters Construction in China https://www.offshorewind.biz/2023/02/06/world-first-offshore-wind-farm-using-16-mw-turbines-enters-construction-in-china/ 

[6] Offshore Wind. (2024). New York cancels three offshore wind projects
https://www.offshorewind.biz/2024/04/22/new-york-cancels-three-offshore-wind-projects/

[7] Renewables Now. (2024). Lithuania’s 2nd offshore wind tender to be relaunched at new terms. https://renewablesnow.com/news/lithuanias-2nd-offshore-wind-tender-to-be-relaunched-at-new-terms-854848/

[8] Balticpower. (2024) ABOUT THE PROJECT https://balticpower.pl/about-the-project/ 

[9] Hai Long Offshore Wind. (2024) Hai Long Offshore Wind Project Officially Launches 2024 Season Offshore Construction https://hailongoffshorewind.com/en/offshore-kickoff 

[10] Revolution Wind. (2024) Project at a glance https://revolution-wind.com/about-revolution-wind 

[11] Ørsted. (2024) From the world’s first to the world’s biggest https://hornseaproject3.co.uk/about-the-project