World Forum Offshore Wind (WFO) published its Global Offshore Wind Report for HY1 2023. Globally, 5,612 MW of offshore wind capacity went into operation in HY1 2023. This is less than in HY1 2022 which saw new installations of 6.8 GW worldwide.
Global offshore wind growth during the first six months of the year was again substantially driven by China which installed 2.2 GW of new offshore wind capacity. This was less than in HY1 2022 during which China installed 5.1 GW of offshore wind capacity. Global installed offshore wind capacity reached 63.2 GW by the end of HY1 2023.
15 new offshore wind farms went into operation (definition: all turbines installed and first power produced) worldwide during HY1 2023 of which 10 were installed in Asia and 5 in Europe. China expanded its position as the world’s largest offshore wind market by far with 28.7 GW of installed capacity. It is followed by the UK (14.7 GW), Germany (8.3 GW) and the Netherlands (4.5 GW). 45% of the world’s total offshore wind capacity is now installed in China.
Looking at offshore wind farms under construction (definition: first offshore wind foundation installed), China and Taiwan lead the way. The Chinese offshore wind sector currently has 2,461 MW of capacity under construction very closely followed by Taiwan with 2,424 MW. The UK is in third place with a total capacity of 1,650 MW under construction followed by France with 1,047 MW. The USA saw two projects enter offshore construction which add up to a total of 938 MW of capacity under construction.
