“With China leading the way, we expect a 36 per cent annual growth rate for offshore wind in Asia for the next five years. The installed capacity is projected to grow from 4900 MW in 2018 to 24,000 MW by 2023. China represents more than half of the Asian market. Other large Asian countries for offshore wind are Japan, South Korea and Taiwan,” says Jon Dugstad, Director Wind & Solar at Norwegian Energy Partners (NORWEP).
At meetings in Arendal and Kristiansand Wednesday, NORWEP presented a new Offshore Wind Market Report to GCE NODE participants.
Large offshore wind investments are a result of significant cost reductions throughout the offshore wind industry, which makes it more competitive with other energy sources. In particular, the cost of wind turbines has been reduced tremendously. Turbines are built bigger than ever before, GE recently announced a 12 MW turbine.
“Offshore wind has seen a sharp fall in production costs, by almost 50 per cent within a few years. When it comes to cost, offshore wind closing in on other renewables,” said Dugstad.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
NORWEP emphasized the business opportunities presented by offshore wind.
“Offshore wind is much more than turbines. It is also development, foundations, electrical interconnections, installation, supply chain and finance. This is of course of interest to Norwegian offshore and maritime industry. We are in a position to utilize expertise from offshore and shipping to add value to offshore wind,” said Dugstad.
Norwegian Energy Partners (NORWEP) is the result of a merger between INTSOK and Intpow in 2017. NORWEP is an organization with a clearly defined objective: to support and assist in the internationalization of the Norwegian energy industry. NORWEP is acting as a catalyst for processes between Norwegian industry and international businesses and governments.
