Global offshore wind capacity could increase 15-fold and attract $1 trillion of cumulative investment by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The IEA’s ‘Offshore Wind Outlook 2019′ report found capacity in the European Union (EU) is set to rise from around 20GW today to 130GW by 2040.
The EU 2040 tally could rise to 180GW and become the region’s largest single source of electricity if it reaches its carbon-neutrality aims.
The IEA said China to likely to have the largest offshore wind fleet of any country by around 2025, overtaking the UK.
China’s offshore wind capacity is set to rise from 4GW today to 110GW by 2040, it added.
Policies designed to meet global sustainable energy goals could push the Chinese total to above 170GW.
Floating turbines, claimed the IEA, could enable offshore wind to meet the “entire electricity demand of several key electricity markets several times over”, including Europe, the US and Japan.
“Offshore wind currently provides just 0.3% of global power generation, but its potential is vast,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol.
“More and more of that potential is coming within reach, but much work remains to be done by governments and industry for it to become a mainstay of clean energy transitions,” he added.
IEA said that governments and regulators can clear the path ahead for offshore wind’s development by providing the long-term vision that will encourage industry and investors to undertake the major investments required and link them to power grids on land.
“That includes careful market design, ensuring low-cost financing and regulations that recognise that the development of onshore grid infrastructure is essential to the efficient integration of power production from offshore wind,” the agency said.
In addition, industry needs to continue the rapid development of the technology so that turbines keep growing in size and power capacity, which in turn delivers the major performance and cost reductions that enables offshore wind to become more competitive with gas-fired power and onshore wind, it added.
IEA said that there are also business opportunities for oil and gas sector companies to draw on their offshore expertise.
“An estimated 40% of the lifetime costs of an offshore wind project, including construction and maintenance, have significant synergies with the offshore oil and gas sector,” it said.
“That translates into a market opportunity of $400bn or more in Europe and China over the next two decades.”
The report is part of the IEA’s flagship ‘World Energy Outlook 2019’ publication, which will be released in full on 13 November.