Offshore staff
LOWESTOFT, UK — More countries plan to stage their first offshore wind lease rounds in 2023, according to the latest Global Market Overview from TGS subsidiary 4C Offshore.
At the same time, project development and FIDs will slow offshore wind expansion in the short term. The report cites slow permitting, delays in offtake auctions, supply chain issues and extended negotiations with the supply chain due to price uncertainties.
However, 4C Offshore expects the industry to make progress over the next few years, leading to a 1-GW increase in the company’s forecast for projects installed or under construction globally in 2030 to 269 GW, compared to the last quarter's predictions.
Countries preparing for first offshore wind lease rounds include Norway, Lithuania, Uruguay, Portugal, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Estonia and Ireland. Many are said to have drawn up terms based on models applied for recent rounds in the UK, US and Denmark.
The report includes a Market Attractiveness Index for Floating Wind that ranks the UK as the most appealing for floating offshore wind at present, followed by Norway, South Korea, the US and Japan.
So far this year, governments have awarded site exclusivity for 17.1 GW of potential offshore wind capacity (bottom-fixed and floating combined) to project developers, the third-highest quarterly site award rate ever recorded by 4C Offshore.
At the same time, only 900 MW of new offshore wind capacity reached FID in 2022, down on recent years.
03.14.2023
