Offshore wind pipeline proves resilient to the COVID crash
Despite the wide-reaching economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pipeline of global offshore wind projects has grown by 47% since January, according to trade association RenewableUK.
The organisation’s latest Offshore Wind Project Intelligence report reveals that the total capacity of offshore wind projects worldwide which are operational or in development currently stands at 197 GW. This figure is up from 135 GW in mid-January. Just over half of the 100 GW pipeline is located in Europe.
The UK retains its top spot with a total pipeline of 41 GW, up 12% since January when it stood at 37 GW. China has leapt from fourth place into second with a sizable 80% increase to 26 GW. The USA retains third place with 10% growth (to 18 GW).
‘The global appetite to develop new offshore wind projects remains enormous, despite the pandemic this year, as this research proves,’ says RenewableUK’s Deputy Chief Executive Melanie Onn. ‘The UK and many other countries are counting on the rapid growth of the offshore wind sector to be a key driver in the worldwide green economic recovery.’
In terms of operational capacity, the UK still has the most in the world at 10.4 GW, Germany is in second place with 7.7GW, China is third (4.6 GW), Belgium fourth (1.8 GW) and Denmark fifth with 1.7 GW.
