BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 14. The global average cost for offshore wind electricity in 2021 decreased by 13 percent, compared to 2020 - from $0.086 per kWh to $0.075 per kWh, Trend reports via the latest publication from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
The global offshore wind market saw an unprecedented expansion of 21 GW in 2021, as China increased its new capacity additions, the report noted.
According to the IRENA, the global average total installed costs declined by 41 percent from 2010 through 2021 - from $4,876 per kilowatt (kW) to $2,858 per kW. Meanwhile, the same index in 2011, at its peak, was $5,584 per kW, which is twice its 2021 value.
“Improvements in technology – including larger turbines and longer blades with higher hub heights – along with access to better wind resources as wind farms moved further from shore, resulted in an increase in the global weighted average capacity factor. This increased from 38 percent in 2010 to 45 percent in 2017, before dropping to 39 percent in 2021, as China increased its share of global deployment,” the report noted.
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