New research published by RenewableUK’s EnergyPulse data analysts shows that the global pipeline of offshore wind projects at all stages of development currently stands at 1,174 GW across 1,417 projects in 38 countries – an increase of 508 GW over the past 12 months. Fully developing that offshore wind capacity could meet 20% of global electricity demand, according to the analysts.

Of this, the UK has 99.8 GW across 130 projects – an increase of 14 GW over the past 12 months. This includes 13.7 GW of fully operational capacity and a further 13.6 GW under construction or with support secured for a route to market.

While the UK retains the second largest pipeline of projects at all stages of development, accounting for 8.5% of the global total, this is the first time that it has fallen below 10%, reflecting the rapid growth of new markets like Australasia and South America, notes RenewableUK.

In terms of global operational capacity, which is reported to currently stand at 60 GW, China is in the lead with 47% (28.3 GW), while the UK retains its position as the second largest with 23% (13.7 GW).

Some 90% of the new offshore wind capacity that went operational in 2022 was in two markets, according to the research – China (3.8 GW) and the UK (3.2 GW). Both countries are expected to retain first and second place until at least 2030.

Commenting on the findings, RenewableUK’s Chief Executive Dan McGrail says: ‘The UK retains a powerful position in offshore wind, second only to China, but we’re seeing incredible growth in new markets like Australia, the US and Brazil. Since the invasion of Ukraine, there has been a global step-change in offshore wind which is a challenge to our current position as a world leader.’

He continues: ‘There’s now fierce global competition for investment in not only wind farms, but also manufacturing facilities and supply chains. The US and EU are offering massive financial incentives for renewable energy, while in the UK the government has been raising taxes on clean energy. These figures underline the need for bold action to attract the billions in private investment we need, otherwise the UK risks being left behind in the years ahead, with money and jobs going to more attractive global markets.’

Global wind news
In other wind related news, Repsol and Ibereólica Renovables have started electricity production at their second joint wind farm in Chile.

The Atacama wind farm, located in Huasco Province, has 165.3 MW of installed capacity. It will produce about 450 GWh/y, equivalent to the consumption of more than 150,000 Chilean households, and will prevent 320,000 t/y of CO₂ emissions, report the project partners.

Chile currently has 358 MW of wind energy in operation.

Meanwhile, TotalEnergies and Corio have joined forces to take forward Taiwan’s Formosa 3 offshore wind project, which comprises three proposed wind farms – Haiding 1, 2 and 3 – in Changhua County on the central-western coast of Taiwan.

The Haiding 2 wind farm was awarded 600 MW in grid capacity in December by the Bureau of Energy, as part of Taiwan’s Round 3 offshore wind auction.

Elsewhere, BP and Deep Wind Offshore have formed a joint venture to develop offshore wind opportunities in South Korea. As part of their agreement, BP has acquired a 55% stake in Deep Wind Offshore’s early-stage offshore wind portfolio, which includes four projects across the Korean peninsula with a potential generating capacity of up to 6 GW.

South Korea is targeting almost 22% of its energy to come from renewable sources by 2030.

More recently, Equinor and EnBW have announced their interest in developing wind projects offshore Germany, although no further details have been revealed.

Vestas unveils turbine blade circularity solution
In other news, Vestas has unveiled a new circularity solution that it claims could stop turbine blades ending up in landfill.

In the past, turbine blades have been challenging to recycle due to the chemical properties of epoxy resin, a resilient substance used as standard practice in the wind industry for decades, which was believed to be impossible to break down into re-usable components. This has led to many technology leaders attempting to replace or modify epoxy resin with alternatives that can be more easily treated. Vestas’ solution is enabled by a novel chemical process that can chemically break down epoxy resin into virgin-grade materials. The chemical process was developed in collaboration with Aarhus University, the Danish Technological Institute, Olin and the partners of the CETEC project, a coalition of industry and academia established to investigate circular technology for turbine blades.

‘Until now, the wind industry has believed that turbine blade material calls for a new approach to design and manufacture to be either recyclable, or beyond this, circular, at end of life. Going forward, we can now view old epoxy-based blades as a source of raw material. Once this new technology is implemented at scale, legacy blade material currently sitting in landfill, as well as blade material in active wind farms, can be disassembled, and re-used. This signals a new era for the wind industry, and accelerates our journey towards achieving circularity,’ comments Lisa Ekstrand, Vice President and Head of Sustainability at Vestas.

In the most mature markets for wind energy, the first turbines are reaching the end of their operational life and this will increase over the coming years. WindEurope expects around 25,000 tonnes of blades to reach the end of their operational life annually by 2025.

Once mature, the new solution will provide Vestas with the opportunity to produce new turbine blades made from re-used blade material. In the future, the new solution also signals the possibility to make all epoxy-based composite material a source of raw material for a broader circular economy, potentially encompassing industries beyond wind energy.