China has reached 45% of global offshore wind capacity, with 102 farms involving around 5,000 turbines adding up to 24 GW, according to Clarksons Research.
China has rapidly grown into a major offshore wind market in the last decade, overtaking the UK in 2021 as the world’s largest producer of electricity from offshore wind.
Clarksons Research projections suggest that by the middle of the decade, Chinese offshore wind capacity will more than double to 54 GW and involve 177 farms and 8,700 turbines by the end of 2025.
“Installed offshore wind capacity in China is set to grow by 12% in the second half of 2022, a moderating of growth after the record start-ups of last year and ending of central government subsidy.
“Capacity expansion in China looks set to be underpinned by Guangdong province, planned to reach 17 GW by end-2025 and Jiangsu province projected to reach 15 GW by end-2025,” remarked Steve Gordon, managing director of Clarksons Research.
On a global basis, Chinese developers constitute six of the top ten by active capacity, although all of their capacity is exclusively within China. Major Chinese offshore wind developers include CTG with 3.4 GW of installed capacity, 4.3 GW under development and 2.6 GW planned and also SPIC and CHN Energy.
According to Clarksons Research data, China also remains the largest wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) market globally, accounting for 28 units and 62% of the current deployment and demand for installation units looks set to remain strong over the coming years.
Gordon noted, however, that while the average turbine capacity in China has historically been lower compared to that of European markets Clarksons’ projections suggest that by the end-2025 the average turbine capacity of start-ups will grow to over 8 MW, “prompting Chinese WTIV owners to follow in the wider WTIV upsizing trend.”
