Asian markets’ expanding wind sector attracts investors: report

The region’s wind power sector saw 82.9 GW of new capacity in 2023.

As European offshore wind energy markets have matured, Asian Pacific markets are looking into the region “to generate greater returns” as the sector sustains its growth.

In a report, law firm Herbert Smith Freehills noted that 2023 was a "year of growth" for Asia's wind power, noting that the region deployed 82.9 gigawatts of new wind capacity, surpassing Europe and America which sa 18.2 GW and 14.4 GW, respectively, citing data from the Global Wind Energy Council.

Lewis McDonald, HSF's global co-head of energy, said offshore wind development is also accelerating in markets such as Taiwan, Thailand, and The Philippines, adding that there is increasing interest in Japan and South Korea.

With the growth of the offshore wind sector in Asian markets, they appeal to investors who target different risk profiles to established European markets, Rob Booth, former head of assets and operations at The Crown Estate, said.

"If you look at the maturity of projects around the North Sea Basin, the returns are not what they would have been 10 or 15 years ago. There's interesting activity in South Korea, Japan and India, which for a different sort of capital is an interesting place to play," Booth said.

For example, China accounted for the majority of new wind installations with 69.3 GW onshore wind and 6.3 GW offshore wind. It is followed by Taiwan which saw 692 megawatts of new offshore capacity.

Herbert Smith Freehills also noted that Japan is committed to developing the sector with a target of 10 GW of offshore deals secured by 2030 and 45 GW by 2040.

South Korea, meanwhile, announced its plans for a multi-gigawatt offshore wind project off the southwest coast in 2023.