The global offshore wind power market, fuelled by the depletion of fossil fuel reserves, the declining cost of wind power generation and impressive investment from the UK, is expected to explode over the next decade, states research and consulting firm GlobalData.
The company’s new report forecasts the global offshore wind power market to rocket from a 2012 cumulative installed capacity of 5.1GW in 2012 to a far greater 54.9GW by the end of the decade, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 34.5 percent.
The UK is a major player in the offshore wind power market thanks to its substantial financial commitment and ideal location, contributing more than half of the global installed capacity last year, with 2.7GW.
Offshore wind is expected to make a large impact upon the UK’s 2020 renewable energy targets and a major expansion is planned. Correspondingly, GlobalData expects the country’s offshore wind power installed capacity to hit 21GW by the end of 2020, increasing almost 800 percent from 2012.
