China can add 64 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power generating capacity over the next five years, according to a report by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).
According to the GWEC’s Global Wind Report 2023 (120-page/14.5MB PDF), China will account for the biggest increase in global offshore wind generating capacity over the next five years. The report predicts that the offshore wind will account for an increasing share of the total global wind generation market, increasing from 11% to 23% by 2027.
Renewables expert John Yeap of Pinsent Masons said: “The speed at which China has expanded its offshore wind sector is remarkable, making it the country with the largest installed capacity, surpassing the UK. China's long coastline with quality wind resources make offshore wind a natural focus for the nation's push towards net zero.”
“The opportunities around the region are necessarily more modest in capacity terms by comparison, given the relative size of the various economies, but are nevertheless highly important in the collective agenda of decarbonisation,” he said.
According to GWEC, 680GW of new wind generation capacity could be added in the next five years. Besides China, by 2027, South Korea is expected to add 2.3GW, Japan with 0.9GW, and Vietnam is expected to add 2.2GW, consisting primarily of intertidal projects.
The report said that 77.6GW of new wind power capacity was connected to power grids in 2022 bringing total installed wind capacity to 906GW, a growth of 9% compared with 2021.
GWEC has increased its forecast for total wind power capacity additions for 2023-2030 by 143GW compared with the report published last year. It has done so after considering energy system reform in Europe; and China’s commitment to further expand the share of renewables in its energy mix.
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