Offshore wind is the preferred renewable power generator because of its potential for large-scale delivery, while alternatives such as solar are struggling to provide the same level of energy because of a lack of available space and a much lower load factor, CET principal analyst Andrei Utkin said.
earlier this month, nine countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States and Japan, said at the United Nations Climate Summit that they would join the Global Offshore Wind Alliance to encourage the development of offshore wind power. The Alliance is an organization established by the International Renewable Energy Agency, Denmark and the Global Wind Energy Council to "remove barriers to wind power".
The International Renewable Energy Agency and the International Energy Agency predict that offshore wind power generation "needs to exceed 2000GW in 2050" to prevent temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, and currently offshore wind power generation is only 60GW.
only installed about 55 GW of offshore wind as of mid -2022. Adding so many new GWs would be a tall order, Utkin said, and the 2030 target "gives the world seven years".
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is a large offshore wind facility under construction in the North Sea with a completed capacity of 3.6 GW (3,600 MW) capable of powering up to 6 million homes.
as the size of the turbine increases, the cost of generating energy also decreases. As a result, the size of offshore and onshore wind turbines has grown by nearly 50% in the past five years, with suppliers now selling enough onshore turbines to generate 7 MW and offshore turbines capable of generating up to 16 MW. 14, 15 or 16 MW turbines can reach up to 280 meters (870 feet), and a single blade can be as long as 351 feet.
According to the Financial Times, Western original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are hampered in their ability to pass on rising costs, as turbine prices are often agreed before construction, while publicly traded OEMs and developers share prices are sliding. According to the British "Financial Times" report, Chinese original equipment manufacturers can manufacture turbines at a lower cost and may compete with Western manufacturers in terms of price for market share. This development will have an impact on the project logistics supply chain.
permits and transmission capacity further hinder the rapid expansion of offshore wind capacity. "All of this combined to be very tough," Utkin said. But many markets with favorable conditions hope to move towards offshore wind by the end of the decade. "
Forwardernet.com