Offshore wind sector to add 410 GW capacity by 2033

Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam are amongst the growth drivers.

The offshore wind energy sector is expected to see around 410 gigawatts (GW) of new installation capacity in the next 10 years, with two-thirds of the deployment to take place between 2029 and 2033.

In a statement, the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) said the sector’s acceleration will be driven by the “next wave of offshore wind markets” such as Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brazil, Colombia, Ireland, and Poland.

These emerging offshore markets are rolling out policies, with governments, industry and civil society members focusing on its development.

“Installing almost 11 GW of offshore wind is the leading edge of a new wave of offshore wind growth. Policy progress - especially across the Asia-Pacific region and the Americas - has set us on course to regularly install record-breaking capacity annually, and pass the 380GW target set up by the Global Offshore Wind Alliance, GWEC CEO Ben Backwell said.

“Offshore wind is now so much more than a European, Chinese or American story. In the last year GWEC has seen rapid progress in new markets where the key drivers for offshore wind are now in place - from government commitments to sustainable economic growth, to increased consumer demand and industrial decarbonisation,” he added.

Globally, the offshore wind capacity rose by 24% with 10.8 GW of new installations, bringing the total capacity to 75.2 GW.