The Maritime Executive
As nations round the world implement bold environmental objectives, adoption of renewable power is setting new data. New analysis from The Renewables Consulting Group (RCG), an ERM Group firm, finds that world offshore wind improvement capability grew by a whopping 89 p.c in 2021.
About 200 GW of latest offshore wind tasks have been introduced in established markets like the UK and Netherlands and new markets similar to Italy and Australia.
Surprisingly, in line with the RCG’s 2021 Global Offshore Wind Annual Report, Brazil is primary in offshore wind investments with a complete surpassing 97 GW, all in improvement.
UK ranks second with a complete of 83.6 GW, together with 10.5 GW in operation and 63.3 GW underneath improvement.
Vietnam takes the third place, adopted by China, which in 2021 put in a file breaking 8 GW of offshore wind capability in a single yr. China now surpasses the UK to develop into the largest operational offshore wind market with 16 GW.
The expiry of China’s feed-in-tariff (FiT) final December was a serious incentive to getting offshore wind tasks accomplished in time. For an offshore wind developer to qualify for the FiT, their tasks needed to be commissioned by the finish of 2021. Incentives similar to FiT have made offshore wind improvement in China comparatively cheap in comparison with different components of the world.
The phenomenal positive factors made in the offshore wind market are underpinned by undertaking leasing, notably in Europe. Scotland not too long ago allotted virtually 25 GW of capability in the ScotWind Offshore wind leasing, its first spherical in a decade.
In the US, practically half one million acres of the Atlantic Ocean have been leased out for offshore wind improvement. The lease spherical accomplished earlier this yr generated $4.37 billion in bid income, turning into the highest-grossing aggressive offshore power lease sale in historical past, together with oil and gasoline lease gross sales. The auctioned websites are positioned in the New York Bight space, a slim stretch of sea that runs between Long Island and southern New Jersey.
“The findings contained in this year’s Offshore Wind 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, it is clear that many decision-makers envision offshore wind as the key fulcrum in their low- carbon energy ambitions,” commented Andrew Cole, RCG Partner and Global Practice Lead.