The vast potential of offshore wind

Today, the International Energy Agency published the most comprehensive global study on offshore wind to date. Here are some thoughts about this flourishing new renewable technology and our new report that I would like to share with you.

As the challenge of meeting global sustainable energy goals increases, it becomes ever more critical to expand the range of available and affordable low-carbon technologies. Pioneered in Europe, offshore wind is a compelling example of a rapidly maturing technology that set to make a major difference in future energy systems. Working with governments, industry and research bodies, the IEA has produced Offshore Wind Outlook 2019, part of our World Energy Outlook series.

Based on current and proposed policies, our analysis shows that global offshore wind power capacity is set to increase 15-fold over the next two decades, turning it into a $1 trillion business. Its potential is far greater than that, however, as made clear by the IEA Sustainable Development Scenario, which outlines a path to meeting global climate, air quality and universal energy access goals. In this scenario, offshore wind not only helps put the global power sector on track for full decarbonisation, it also becomes the leading source of electricity in Europe and enables hydrogen to dramatically cut emissions from sectors such as iron, steel and shipping.

This report lays out where offshore wind stands today, how it could develop and which challenges still need to be overcome. To get a clear picture of offshore wind’s global potential, the IEA collaborated with Imperial College London to undertake a state-of-the-art geospatial analysis. Using the latest satellite data, the project mapped out in detail the speed and quality of wind along hundreds of thousands of kilometres of coastline around the world.

This new study complements IEA coverage of the renewables sector and its increasingly in-depth work on electricity security. Those efforts include co-organising with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy the first Global Ministerial Conference on System Integration of Renewables earlier this month in October 2019 to share ideas for fully grasping the opportunities of wind and solar power. We are also carrying out a major new study on global electricity security in the 21st century. The report, to be published in September 2020, will look at how to manage the integration of more variable renewables into power grids, how to protect energy infrastructure from cybersecurity threats and how to improve resilience to extreme natural events.

Some may question why I decided to devote so much of the IEA’s time and effort to this report on offshore wind, a technology that today supplies just 0.3% of global power generation. The reason is that its potential is vast. Improved technology and steep cost reductions are putting more and more of that potential within our reach. But much work remains to be done for offshore wind to help decarbonise electricity and, through the production of hydrogen, possibly other sectors as well. That work includes putting in place polices to promote investment and spur innovation. I hope this report helps governments make those smart policy choices for the future development of this powerful emerging technology.