China roared into number-two spot in total offshore wind installed as it added half of the world’s new capacity last year, according to data from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).

The Asian superpower installed 3GW of new offshore turbines in 2020, the most of any nation for the third year in a row, said the body.

The new additions – out of a total 6.1GW installed globally – pushed China to second place in cumulative capacity with a 28% share of the 35.2GW now in the world’s seas, passing previous number-two Germany and behind only the UK, according to GWEC's metrics.

The other big mover in offshore wind last year was the Netherlands, which added almost 1.5GW, second only to China in terms of new capacity, said GWEC.

The industry body said the fact that global additions were flat last year – matching the 6.1GW installed in 2019 – shows the resilience of the offshore wind sector in the face of the Covid pandemic.

Feng Zhao, Head of Market Intelligence and Strategy at GWEC said: “The continued growth of the offshore wind industry globally throughout the pandemic is a testament to the resilience of this booming industry.

“Although China was hit first by the Covid-19 crisis, the impacts on the offshore wind sector were minimal, resuming ‘business-as-usual’ as early as March 2020. China’s record-breaking growth is expected to continue in 2021, driven by an offshore wind installation rush to meet China’s feed-in-tariff deadline by the end of this year.”

Zhao said Asia will become an increasingly important part of the offshore wind picture as markets such as Japan and South Korea gear up, while floating wind will expand the sector’s horizons into deeper waters.

GWEC is the latest to release a tally of the global offshore wind fleet, joining others in highlighting the growing role of China.

World Forum Offshore Wind and analyst Rystad both put the global total at around 32GW, Recharge reported earlier.

Wind

China topples Germany to enter global offshore wind top-two: GWEC