The global offshore wind industry delivered its second best year for new capacity ever in 2022, with 8800MW of energy connected to the grid around the world, according to a new Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) report.
Global Offshore Wind Report 2023 forecasts that 380GW of new offshore wind will be built by 2032 – nearly half of which will come from the Asia-Pacific region.
The size of the potential in the APAC region, combined with the number of new countries turning to offshore wind for their energy needs, marks the next frontier for this exciting technology, according to the report.
More than 180GW capacity has been identified in the region outside of China, with Australia alone accounting for more than 50GW, it found.
The central challenge governments now face is in realising this potential, GWEC said.
Unprecedented collaboration, cooperation and investment across the world is needed to help overcome the hurdles the industry faces, it argued.
The Global Offshore Report 2023 also points to the risks of inadequate policy frameworks and too timid approaches.
While increasing its forecast for APAC, GWEC has downgraded its near-term forecast for Europe and North America by 17% due to delays caused by permitting and other regulatory issues, while supply chain bottlenecks are a risk for every region except China.
On the other hand, GWEC’s longer-term forecast offers hope with the prospect of strong growth from 2028-32, it said.
GWEC chief executive Ben Backwell said: “The offshore wind sector has delivered another year of impressive growth to reinforce last year’s record numbers.
“This report outlines that the potential is there for record growth every year from now on. This would deliver a transformed, clean, secure energy system – particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.
“However, governments and industry across the world will need to work together if this potential is to be realised, while trade and industrial policies will need to focus on partnership and collaboration to deliver investment and growth.
“Governments and industry will need to face head-on the challenges the sector faces around supply chain, permitting and policy in order to build future-proof markets.
“By solving these challenges we can build a strong, resilient global offshore wind industry that can provide a clean and secure foundation for economies around the world, and ensure we meet our climate targets.”