All major renewable energy sources – including offshore wind – have now become cheaper than new-build coal, gas or nuclear power in Europe, utility Orsted said in a report that despite an enormous potential for wind at sea also stresses the need for a right political framework to create demand.

National policy targets in Europe already add up to more than 70GW of offshore wind by 2030, the report “ Making green energy affordable - How the offshore wind energy industry matured – and what we can learn from it ” says.

The European Commission in a strategic roadmap for a net-zero carbon economy by 2050 included up to 400GW of wind at sea, more than 20 times today’s installed base, the report mentions adding that “the economically feasible potential for offshore wind power in north-western Europe exceeds 600GW – enough to cover more than 80% of the EU’s power demand.”

But the offshore wind sector is rapidly globalising, with countries such as India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the US all seeking to deploy offshore wind energy at a large scale, next to China.

With regional political demand for renewables boosting market volume, operational synergies and economies of scale can be achieved far faster than was the case in European developments, the report said.

But for that the right political framework needs to be in place, the report stresses, creating demand and securing long-term market visibility.

It also shows regional first movers have the potential to become an industrial supply hub, boosting local employment.

But Orsted in its report also cautions: “ However, countries which develop their first offshore wind farms will generally see somewhat higher project costs than in north-western Europe, until a supply chain and a pipeline of projects are in place.”

“When a market reaches ‘critical mass’, regional investment and localisation of the supply chain can reduce costs.”

This typically occurs when projects totalling a few GW are under way, Orsted says.

Wind

‘Offshore wind cheaper than fossil and nuclear power in Europe': Orsted