Global offshore wind capacity rises 24% in 2023, second-highest growth in offshore wind history

Global offshore wind energy capacity reached 75.2 gigawatts (GW) last year, 24% higher than the previous year, marking the second-highest yearly increase in offshore wind history, according to Global Wind Energy Council’s (GWEC) recent report.

‘The Global Offshore Wind Report 2024’ highlighted that 10.8 GW of new offshore wind capacity was added to the grid worldwide last year, bringing the total global offshore wind capacity to 75.2 GW by the end of 2023.

By the end of 2023, installed capacity in Asia and Europe reached 41 GW and 34 GW, respectively.

‘The two regions combined made up 99.9% of total global offshore wind capacity,’ the report showed.

The report revealed that China led the world in annual offshore wind developments for the sixth year in a row with 6.3 GW added in 2023.

In addition, Europe had a record year in 2023, with 3.8 GW of new offshore wind capacity added from 11 wind farms commissioned across seven markets accounting for most of the new capacity.

Despite tremendous growth experienced in the sector, last year was also a turbulent one for the offshore wind industry in both Europe and Asia, according to the report.

The report outlined ‘inflation, increased capital costs, and supply chain constraints’ as challenges that created uncertainty in the sector.

GWEC holds an optimistic outlook for the coming years and expects annual offshore wind installation increase to triple in 2028 compared to the level seen in 2023.

• gigawatts (GW)
• Global offshore
• Global Wind Energy Council's (GWEC)