Study says offshore wind expenses will grow to EUR 38bn in five years

(ADPnews) - Nov 19, 2010 - Global offshore wind expenses will reach EUR 38 billion (USD 52bn) in the next five years, an offshore wind market report of energy business analysts Douglas-Westwood says.

The World Offshore Wind Market Report 2011-2015 predicts that annual expenditure will exceed EUR 12 billion by 2015.

The figures reflect the 11 GW of new offshore wind capacity to be added during the studied five-year period. In comparison, the newly installed wind capacity for 2010 is seen to be 3 GW.

According to the report, the UK, Germany and China will continue to be the largest offshore wind markets worldwide. They will install a total of 9.3 GW in the next five years, or 83% of the expected global capacity.

The UK will add 4.4 GW of offshore wind capacity in the five-year period, remaining the world's leading offshore wind market.

"We anticipate that China will become the world leader in offshore wind, overtaking the UK early in the next decade," said John Westwood, chairman of Douglas-Westwood.

China is expected to spend more than EUR 3 billion on offshore wind projects in the next five years.

As regards North America, the report considers that supply chain development is crucial to prevent high project costs.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.367)

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