Offshore staff
LOWESTOFT, UK — Last year was a record for offshore wind investments worldwide, according to a report by TGS - 4C Offshore, with projects totaling 12.3 GW in capacity reaching closure.
Up to 13 GW of further projects could go forward in 2024.
The 2023 intake included FID on eight European projects total, concluding with Hornsea 3 in the UK southern North Sea just before Christmas. Over Taiwan and South Korea, 2.3 GW got the nod, along with 704 MW at Revolution Wind off the US East Coast.
Currently, five auctions are taking place in the US with developers of both new and old projects competing for more favorable terms. But TGS-4C’s report also warns that secured offtake contracts in 2023 globally were down by almost 2 GW to 9.5 GW, largely due to developers shunning the UK's Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction.
On the other hand, of the offtake contracts that were awarded, the price was up on previous years averaging €105/MWh ($114.6/MWh), reflecting the impacts of inflation, supply chain constraints and interest rates on energy costs.
This year 47.5 GW of offtake auctions are lined up, of which 40 GW will be in Europe, with lease rounds offering a total of 33.5 GW of leases in Australia, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, India, Japan, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, the UK, Uruguay and the US.
Last year 43.8 GW of sites were awarded, of which one-third was for floating offshore wind.
TGS-4C’s report also highlights the most competitive floating offshore wind markets in a Market Attractiveness Index. The UK leads, followed by Norway.
Elsewhere, South Korea is seen as having the greatest perceived potential while the US has the greatest ambition. But 4C Offshore has downgraded its forecast for new floating wind generation underway by 2030 to 10 GW of capacity.
01.05.2024
