BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 27. Global offshore wind capacity is expected to boost in coming years as more countries plan to enter the industry, Trend reports via the latest publication from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
“In 2021, of the total 830 GW of wind capacity installed, 93 percent were onshore systems, with the remaining 7 percent offshore wind farms. About 22 percent of total wind capacity growth of 94 GW was delivered by offshore technology in 2021, the highest in history and three times the average of the previous five years. Such a high share resulted from a combination of record offshore capacity additions in China, which was responsible for 80 percent of offshore growth, and a slowdown in global onshore growth,” the report said.
According to the IEA expectations, offshore wind deployment is projected to accelerate in existing markets, such as the EU and China, as well as to launch in the US, Chinese Taipei, and Japan. Meanwhile, onshore wind capacity additions are expected to remain stable in the coming years.
As the IEA explained, onshore wind innovation is mainly focused on developing turbines with longer blades and higher towers, thus, increasing the productivity of the technology. However, the maximum height of onshore wind turbines is often limited in certain regions for environmental and social reasons, limiting the scope for innovation.
“In the offshore wind segment, in contrast, there is no such turbine size restriction; innovation is therefore focused on designing larger turbines, which allow reductions in the overall cost of power generation. In parallel, the development of cost-competitive and safe floating offshore wind turbines is accelerating. Floating wind farms could unblock the vast potential of ocean areas with a water depth too great for fixed turbines and they could be a vital energy transition tool,” the Agency added.
Meanwhile, as the IEA noted, global annual capacity additions of wind electricity generation need to increase to almost 250 GW, which more than doubles 2020’s record growth, to reach the estimated 7,900 TWh in 2030.
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