RenewableUK says global offshore wind pipeline grows to 846 GW

The global pipeline of offshore wind projects has reached 846 GW, almost double its year-ago level of 429 GW, trade body RenewableUK said on Tuesday.

The figure includes projects at any stages of development, from operational to planned, as well as 135 GW of overlapping proposed projects, mainly in Brazil, Taiwan and Sweden.

China is the leading country in terms of total pipeline with 98 GW, closely followed by the UK with 91 GW. The top five also includes the US with 80 GW, Germany with 57 GW and Brazil with 52 GW. Sweden, Ireland, Vietnam and South Korea also have large pipelines.

The operational capacity ranking is also led by China with 24.5 GW, followed by the UK (10.5 GW), Germany (7.7 GW), the Netherlands (3 GW) and Denmark (2.3 GW).

The UK boasts the largest pipeline of floating projects of 32 GW. Other countries with significant floating wind pipelines include Sweden with 25 GW, Taiwan with 21 GW, Ireland with 16 GW and South Korea with 16 GW.

“Countries around the world recognise the urgent need to ramp up the transition to clean power - not only to tackle climate change, but also to provide secure supplies of low-cost homegrown electricity for people hit hard by international gas prices going through the roof,” said Dan McGrail chief executive of RenewableUK, which is holding its Global Offshore Wind 2022 conference and exhibition in Manchester.

“But we can move faster, if Governments play their part by speeding up sluggish consenting processes and ensuring that new grid infrastructure is built when and where it’s needed. We’re working closely with Ministers on this, and many other counties are following our lead,” added McGrail.

RenewableUK today also published a manifesto for a decarbonised power system by 2035, which includes recommendations such as reforming contracts for difference (CfD) to attract more investment in supply chains.

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