Globally 5,194MW of offshore wind capacity went into operation during 2019 according the Global Offshore Wind Report 2019 published by World Forum Offshore Wind (WFO).
In total global offshore wind installations reached 27,213MW by the end of 2019. Worldwide 16 new offshore wind farms went into operation during 2019 in China, UK, Germany, Denmark, Belgium and Taiwan. Globally 146 offshore wind farms are now up and running. The UK remains the world’s biggest offshore wind market with 9.7GW of total installed capacity. Germany retains its second place with a total of 7.5GW of operational capacity. China, currently in third place, is rapidly catching up with 4.9GW of installed offshore wind power.
The Chinese offshore wind sector is growing rapidly with a total capacity of 3.7GW currently under construction. The continuous offshore wind growth path implemented by the Dutch government makes The Netherlands the second largest market for offshore wind projects under construction with 1.5GW. The disruption in the German offshore wind market caused by regulatory framework changes is reflected in the comparatively low capacity currently under construction of only 220MW.
Floating offshore wind is also making progress. Announcements for two large-scale floating projects in South Korea brought the total floating offshore wind development pipeline to around 1GW. With four floating offshore wind projects under development in the Atlantic Ocean as well as Mediterranean Sea France is the front runner in this dynamic new market.
