The offshore wind industry has made an addition of 8GW of capacity in 2024, revealed the flagship Global Offshore Wind Report by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).
This growth brings the total installed offshore wind capacity worldwide to 83GW, sufficient to power an estimated 73 million households.
However, new offshore wind capacity additions remained 26% lower in 2024 than the previous year, with China maintaining its lead in installations for the seventh consecutive year.
The top five markets, including China, the UK, Taiwan, Germany, and France, accounted for 94% of new additions last year.
The report indicates a record 56GW of new capacity was awarded through government auctions last year, with another 48GW currently under construction.
However, macroeconomic factors, policy instability, particularly in the US, auction failures in the UK and Denmark, supply chain issues, coupled with transmission delays in Europe and slower commissioning in the Asia Pacific (APAC) have led to a downward revision of GWEC’s short-term outlook to 24%, lower than previous forecasts.
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By GlobalDataGWEC deputy CEO Rebecca Williams said: “Of course, the sector has faced challenges, and in particularly policy instability in the US has had a significant impact, as well as failed auctions in mature markets. But the path forward is clear and achievable – smarter auctions, better policies, and faster delivery.
“With record levels of construction and auctions, 2025 is a pivotal year. This is the moment for industry and governments to come together, knuckle down and deliver the next stage of offshore wind’s growth.”
The report remains optimistic about the mid-term prospects for offshore wind, with forecasts showing annual installations growing from 8GW in 2024 to 34GW by 2030.
With expected annual growth rates of 28% until 2029 and 15% up to 2034, the industry is set to surpass 30GW annually by 2030 and reach 50GW by 2033.
The expansion is not limited to established markets in Europe and China, as offshore wind is gaining traction in new regions such as APAC and Latin America.
Looking ahead, the offshore wind industry is expected to see a compound average growth rate of 21%, adding 350GW over the next decade and reaching 441GW by the end of 2034.
This growth will see the offshore share of new wind power installations increase from 7% to 25%.
China and Europe will continue to lead offshore wind growth, but their cumulative market share is projected to decrease to 89% in 2029 and 84% in 2034 due to the emergence of new markets in APAC, North America, and Latin America.
