World brings live 9.8 GW of offshore wind parks in 2023

New offshore wind farms with a combined capacity of 9.8 GW reached commercial operations globally in 2023, exceeding the previous year’s 9.4-GW total regardless of the higher costs and supply chain woes, according to data by the World Forum Offshore Wind (WFO).

The wind industry platform’s latest statistics show that 25 new offshore wind parks were commissioned last year, bringing the world’s cumulative installed offshore capacity to 67.4 GW.

China is at the top of the ranking with 31.5 GW of operational wind farms after bringing online 5 GW in the past year alone.

“The industry has experienced a significant jolt in 2023. While leases and projects continued to be awarded/sanctioned, cost inflation coupled with mismatched support levels have resulted most tangibly in delayed or even cancelled proposed capacity build-outs,” WFO said.

During 2023, the wind industry saw the commissioning of the 496-MW Saint-Brieuc park in French waters, which more than doubled the country’s total installed offshore wind capacity to 978 MW. The year also marked the launch of the 88-MW Hywind Tampen, the world's largest floating offshore wind farm off Norway.

Overall, 18 of the new parks that went live in 2023 are located in Asia, while Europe accounted for the remaining seven. The largest one in terms of capacity was the 1.5-GW Hollandse Kust Zuid off the Dutch coast.

A total of 42 GW of lease capacity was awarded in 2023 and awards in 2024 are forecast to top 70 GW.

In terms of construction activity, China is the leader with 6.3 GW of offshore parks currently under construction, followed by the UK and Taiwan with 3.9 GW and 2.4 GW, respectively. At end-2023, roughly 16 GW of offshore wind farms were undergoing installation globally.

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