The offshore wind energy industry has a great potential to supply large amounts of clean and renewable energy to satisfy the demands for electricity in cities along the American coastlines.
The offshore wind energy global industry size accounted for USD 27.33 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach over USD 129 billion by 2030, at a steady CAGR of 18.82% every year.
An increasing demand for renewable energy sources across the world have led to an increase in the demand for offshore wind energy market. Lucrative opportunities will be provided to all the developing nations do to this project in the coming five years.
European countries have a larger market for this technology as the government is focusing on renewable energy sources for the production of electricity. Almost 2/3 of the world’s total offshore wind power capacity was installed in United Kingdom and Germany 2016 but as of 2022, China is rapidly expanding their offshore wind power capacity. Even though the installation cost of offshore wind turbines is huge, it is a better source of power generation than that on land and they last a good 20 years. There are other disadvantages of the turbines that are installed on a fixed. Foundation which killed a lot of birds, and it is not environment friendly It also affects the flora and fauna of the water-bodies.
What is offshore wind energy?
Offshore wind energy is obtained by harnessing the power of the wind at sea, where the wind reaches a higher speed and is more constant because there are no barriers. In order to make the most of this resource, mega-structures are installed that are seated on the seabed and equipped with the latest technical innovations.
What are the benefits of offshore wind energy?
Because this is a type of renewable energy, there are numerous benefits because it is inexhaustible (wind is an unlimited resource) and does not pollute. (It is a source of energy that produces low greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), which are the main culprits responsible for global warming).
The wind blows more at sea than it does on dry land and can produce up to twice the power obtained from onshore facilities. What’s more, these plants have a lower visual impact and are less noisy which means that their installed power can be far higher than on land, reaching hundreds of megawatts. Likewise, sea transport is easy, allowing unit powers and sizes far higher than those possible on land.
Drivers
Nations across the globe are adopting policies for the usage of renewable energy sources so this happens to be the major driver for the offshore wind energy market. There has been a drastic change in the green energy options in order to cut-down the carbon footprints various corporates and other sectors are finding this option lucrative Equinor is focusing on cutting down its carbon emissions to almost half by the year 2050. Off-shore winds are faster as compared to that on land and therefore generate more power ,also the wind are steady and hence there is constant production which means it is a reliable source for energy generation. They will create jobs in the future with the successful adoption of this technology and also eliminate all the environmental pollutants.
Restraints
The equipment and the foundation laid offshore involve high cost and also involve logistic issues due to the location of installation. Also the maintenance cost will be high and corrosion of the turbines can’t be ruled out. Solving even the smallest issues in the wind turbines becomes very difficult during the bad weather. Hurricanes or storms can damage the wind turbines, the underwater cables that transfer electricity back to land are highly expensive to produce and install.
Opportunities
Recent initiatives by the various governments to adopt renewable energy sources on the rise and this happen to the best opportunity governments are focusing on green options forthe reduction of carbon footprints. The international Renewable Energy Agency states there must be a rise of upto 86% in the green energy sources by the year 2050. The size of the blades can be huge as it has a large area for expansion over the water leading to an increased output.
Challenges
The pandemic COVID 19 has adversely affected the market and the installation and the supply chain were affected. Due to which the desired output was not achieved. Since there were interruptions in the global trade the expansion of the market has slowed down. The turbines or the infrastructure has a negative impact on the wildlife, flora and fauna of the water and it poses a threat to birds flying over the water body safety of the employees is compromised when working on the offshore sites operators’ safety is also a concern for the R&D team. Currently, the shallow water bodies are used for installation but in future the deeper waters will be used and the innovation and technology for the foundation to install the turbines must be apt for the same.
Recent Developments
The installation of 107 monopile foundation is likely to start in 2023. The contract was signed in the year 2021 by OrstedA/S and Jan De Nul Group. Another contract for 100 turbines will be deployed for a project; the contract was signed in April 2021 by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. A multi turbine technology is under development by Norwegian company which will generate five times the energy as compared to the turbines that are presently used. The design is that of a square grid with about 100 small blades. All of this is supported by a floating Platform.
Regional Snapshot
In various countries, the growth of the offshore wind energy market has slowed down due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. All the important operations had come to a halt owing to major setbacks in production and supply chains. As of 2022, China has surpassed UK and Germany in terms of offshore wind power capacity. A Chinese manufacturer of wind turbines holds the record for having the biggest wind turbine in the world.
Key Players
Major companies operating in the market are Siemens Gamesa, Prysmian Group, Nexans, Sumitomo Electric, General Electric, Southwire LLC, IMPSA, Enessere, LS Cable & System, Vestas, Goldwind, Nordex, WEG, Suzlon Energy, Global Energy (Group), Senvion, RTS Wind, Vattenfall, ENVISION Group, NSW Cable, Clipper Windpower, Enercon, JDR Cable, Northland Power, Bergey Windpower, NKT A/S, and Zhejiang Windey.
