Global offshore wind capacity investment set records in 2020, according to the Renewables Consulting Group (RCG).
RCG’s Global Renewable Infrastructure Projects (GRIP) database calculated total offshore wind capacity financed last year reached 8370MW across the European, Americas and Asia Pacific (excluding China) regions.
This eclipsed the previous total of 6438MW financed in 2018.
Global investment for offshore wind reached $30bn billion, surpassing the previous high of $22bn in 2018.
“Global offshore wind continues its extraordinary growth,” said Maxwell Clarke, in RCG’s market intelligence team.
“Despite the pandemic, 2020 saw more offshore wind capacity and investment than any year before. Across global markets, record capacity investments were not only seen in firm commitments to build projects, but also in capacity acquired through mergers and acquisitions.”
Several notable offshore wind projects, such as Dogger Bank A and B, the world’s largest offshore wind project, reached their final investment decisions (FID) in 2020.
Clarke added: “Our analysis demonstrates the importance of markets having a proper route-to-market to push offshore wind projects to completion.
“The build out of commercial-scale offshore wind globally remains centred on markets with structured route to market mechanisms reducing investment risk.”
The UK saw more than 3658MW in capacity secured investment with 2950MW supported by the contracts for difference (CfD) mechanism.
In the Netherlands, the centrally planned and developed Hollandse Kust Zuid and Hollandse Kust Noord sites were advanced through the subsidy-free tendering mechanism allocating a combined 2299MW in capacity.
In Taiwan, the Changfang and Xaido projects reached FID having signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with an associated feed-in-tariff (FiT) as part of the Zonal Application planning process, allowing 589 MW to move to the pre-construction phase.
In France, the Saint Brieuc and Fecamp projects both reached FID after being awarded FiTs in 2018 (after revisions to the FiT rates previously awarded in 2012).
In Germany, Innogy (as part of RWE Renewables) committed to the Kaskasi 2 project in April, after winning the second interim tender for offshore wind in Germany.