Global offshore wind development capacity grew 89% in 2021, according to new research from The Renewables Consulting Group (RCG).
More than 200GW of new offshore wind projects were announced in both established markets, such as the United Kingdom and Netherlands, and new markets, such as Italy and Australia.
According to the 2021 ‘Global Offshore Wind Annual Market Report’, there is also a new number one in the global rankings as Brazil moved to first place with a total surpassing 97GW, all in development.
The UK, with 10.5GW operational and 9.8GW secured, ranks second with 83.6GW total.
Vietnam, with 65.6GW in development, continues its massive pipeline in third.
Ranking fourth is China, which installed a record breaking near 8GW of capacity throughout 2021 and surpassed the UK to become the largest operational offshore wind market.
China’s growth through 2020 and 2021 is, in part, driven by the expiry of the feed-in tariff at the end of 2021.
Taiwan rounds out the top five with a total of 51.6GW.
Notably, Australia (#10), Italy (#15) and Finland (#16) are new entrants among the world leaders and signify the growing popularity of offshore wind as a viable option to support the transition to a low-carbon economy.
The predominant theme, however, was leasing activity –particularly across Europe.
Scotland allocated almost 25GW of capacity in the Scotwind process, its first offshore leasing round in a decade.
The first contract for differences(CFD) round for offshore wind projects took place in Poland, with 5.9GW of capacity securing a route to market.
The first new auction for projects under Germany’s offshore wind act also occurred.
The first commercial-scale floating wind project auction in France was launched.
Many more auction firsts are to be expected in the coming years, as the groundwork was laid for future site allocations in Spain, Greece, Italy, Norway, Ireland and Lithuania.
Allocation activity was not limited to Europe, however.
In the Asia Pacific region, Japan’s first offshore wind auctions took place, securing a route to market for 1.7GW of capacity.
RCG partner and global practice lead Andrew Cole said: “The findings contained in this year’s Offshore Wind Global Market Report clearly demonstrate the importance of offshore wind on a global scale.
“Several leasing opportunities have culminated in developers securing routes-to-market –bolstering marketplace confidence amongst governments, institutions, investors and developers.
“With offshore wind continuing to emerge in new markets, itis clear that many decision-makers envision offshore wind is as the key fulcrum in their low-carbon energy ambitions.”