World Forum Offshore Wind (WFO) has published its Global Offshore Wind Report for the first half-year of 2021 (HY1 2021). Globally 1,627 MW of offshore wind capacity went into operation during HY1 2021.
This demonstrates a slowdown in global offshore wind growth likely caused by the adverse effects of COVID-19. In total global offshore wind installations reached 34,137 MW by the end of June 2021. Worldwide 6 new offshore wind farms went into operation during HY1 2021 in China, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Taiwan. Globally 169 offshore wind farms are now up and running of which 110 are located in Europe, 57 in Asia and 2 in the USA. The UK remains the world’s biggest offshore wind market with 10.4 GW of total installed capacity. China overtakes Germany as the world’s second largest offshore wind market with 7.9 GW of operational capacity as compared to Germany’s stagnating 7.7 GW. The Chinese offshore wind sector is growing rapidly with a total capacity of 5.3 GW currently under construction. The stagnation in the German offshore wind market caused by regulatory framework changes is clearly reflected by zero construction activities in Germany for the third half-year in a row.
