China Built 80% Of World's Offshore Wind Farms Last Year

A large portion of the thousands of offshore wind turbines built last year were built in Chinese waters. China's offshore wind boom caused a threefold increase in new installations worldwide in 2021, even though the frenzy is projected to slow this year.

Photo Insert: A Chinese offshore wind farm project

For at least the next decade, China is on track to lead the world in offshore wind installations, Maria Gallucci and Maria Virginia Olano reported for Canary Media.

According to the Global Wind Energy Council, China connected roughly 17 gigatonnes of new offshore wind capacity to its grid last year, accounting for 80 percent of the 21.1 gigatonnes linked globally. This brings China's total offshore wind capacity to more than 26 gigatonnes, or just under half of the global capacity.

Until recently, Europe was the leader in offshore wind installations, with the majority of turbines spinning off the coast of the United Kingdom. China erected its first offshore wind turbine in the northeastern Bohai Sea in 2007.

Three years later, China launched its first commercial offshore project, making it the country's first entry on the chart above.

Soon after the government adopted a feed-in tariff (FIT) in 2014, China's offshore wind industry accelerated. The incentive was 850 yuan ($134) per megawatt-hour delivered to the electric grid by the wind farms. The hitch was that new offshore wind farms have to be finished by January 1, 2022.

Following projects would earn less money for their electricity output. This deadline accelerated the development of new offshore wind projects in China.

The country's overall installations are anticipated to fall by several gigatonnes this year as a result of the policy shift, according to BloombergNEF's latest wind report, however, increased installations in the UK and Taiwan may "soften the drop" internationally.

Nonetheless, through at least 2035, the last year included by the report's estimates, China is likely to build more offshore wind power than any other country.

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