Offshore wind industry is set to gain a foothold in new markets in the next five years, with the Asian markets playing a significant role.
China has significant ambition for the build-out of offshore wind – and added more capacity in 2018 than any other country. However, what is less known, is that markets such as Korea, Japan, Vietnam and India – have made plans to incorporate offshore wind into their energy mix.
While much of the capacity being installed today is coming from mature markets such as Europe – where 18.5 GW was installed by the end of 2018 – most of the future growth will come from emerging markets.
Asia Wind Energy Association yesterday (November 27) hosted a seminar which looked to provide additional clarity to the forward strides taken on offshore wind in Asia.
“The Asian market for offshore wind has huge potential – and we are naturally excited about the business opportunities that this might represent for our Danish shipowners. However, developments are still at an early stage in many of the markets – but we are cautiously optimistic – and hope that offshore wind really gains a strong foothold in the emerging Asian markets”, said Jacob K. Clasen, Executive Director at Danish Shipping.
“The Asian offshore wind market today, is naturally dominated by China. However, there is no doubt that markets such as Japan, South Korea and India will also become increasingly important in the coming years. At AWEA, we are very pleased to see that industry are opening their eyes to the significant opportunities that these markets represent”, said Edgare Kerkwijk, Board Member at Asia Wind Energy Association.
Most leading energy institutions expects that offshore wind will play an increasing role in the energy transition, as the technology becomes more and more cost competitive.
One of the technology developments, that has the potential to go mainstream, is floating wind solutions. An area which Maersk Supply Service believes can play a role in some Asian markets.
“We follow the Asian region with great interest. Floating wind solutions is a promising market, where our 50 years maritime experience in towing and mooring large structures can come into play. Due to the water depth in markets such as Japan and South Korea, the countries will potentially focus on floating wind, which could represent a good opportunity for us”, said Jonas Munch Agerskov, Chief Strategy Officer, Maersk Supply Service.