GBI Research has released its latest research, "Offshore Wind Power Market Analysis and Forecast to 2020 - China's Capacity Investments Position It to Overtake Germany by 2018, Second Only to the UK".

The report gives an in-depth analysis of the global offshore wind power market, covering three major regions: North America (the US and Canada), Europe (the UK, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Spain and Finland) and Asia-Pacific (China and Japan).

The report covers the offshore wind cumulative installed capacity, power generation from 2001-2020 and major turbine manufacturers who installed turbines in 2010. The report also provides the policies and regulations for wind energy for each country discussed.

It gives global offshore technology analysis, cost analysis and market force analysis with drivers and restraints.

The report covers make and break issues and provides market active and upcoming projects as well as recent activities. This report is built using data and information sourced through primary and secondary research and in-house analysis by GBI Research's team of industry experts.

Global Offshore Wind Market to Grow at a CAGR of 37% from from 4.8 GW in 2011 to Reach 80 GW in 2020

During 2001-2010 the installed capacity of offshore wind globally grew from 54 MW to 2,862.9 MW at a CAGR of 55.5%. The growth in capacity during this period was driven by the commissioning of new offshore wind farms with installed capacities of 2,119 MW in the UK in 2010 and 749 MW in Denmark in 2007.

During the forecast period 2011-2020 the total global offshore wind installed capacity is expected to grow at a CAGR of 36.8% from 4,782.9 MW to 80,044.5 MW. The sudden rise in capacity in 2020 is mainly due to a capacity addition of 13 GW expected in UK and 2000 MW in China.

UK Leading the Race in the Offshore Wind Market
The UK and Denmark are the leaders in terms of installed capacity with 1341.2 MW and 853.7 MW respectively in 2010. A large number of active wind farms are operational in these countries and they have identified a number of sites along their coasts which are favorable for offshore wind power. These countries have allocated budgets and set targets to encourage the use of renewable sources for energy production.

China is gradually increasing its offshore wind power potential and is planning to introduce new offshore wind farms in the future. The dominance of the UK in the global wind offshore power market. It constituted around 47% of the cumulative installed capacity in 2010 which will dip to 17% in 2015 but rise to 31% in 2020. In all three scenarios the UK remains the leader in the offshore wind market.

China's Heavy Plans to Compete with European Countries in Offshore Wind
China has introduced a number of new offshore wind farms and is planning to reach more than 11 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2020. The government of China is committed to developing the country's massive wind resources due to its need for increasing power generation capacity to support a growing economy.

The cumulative capacity comparison chart shown in figure 1 depicts China's increasing dominance in the global offshore wind power generation market. In 2010, China's share in the global offshore wind power market was 4% which is expected to rise to 10.3% in 2015 and 14.3% in 2020.

In order to drive wind power development, the Chinese National Energy Administration has selected locations in provinces with the best wind resources and set targets for each of them to reach by 2020.

The expected high growth in the cumulative installed capacity in China is mainly due to a high capacity offshore wind farms planned for the future, namely Pingtan offshore wind farm in the East China Sea with a capacity of 1,500 MW, Lufeng Jiahu Bay Offshore Wind Power Plant in South China sea with a capacity of 1,250 MW, Hebei offshore wind farm in the Yellow Sea with a capacity of 1000 MW capacity and Bohai Bay offshore wind farm with a capacity of 1000 MW.

Wind Companies' Investment Plans by New Technologies
Wind companies across the world are investing millions of dollars in research and development (R and D) activities regarding offshore wind turbines, vessels and others. Turbine manufacturers are developing high capacity turbines which can sustain rough weather conditions at sea.

Shipping companies are developing vessels which are suitable for the development of offshore wind turbine installations and are expecting a revolution similar to that caused by the oil and gas industry a few years ago.

Government Support and Funding from Industry Associations especially in Europe to Boost Offshore Wind Energy

Various governments have announced policies to encourage organizations to establish offshore wind farms. Along with huge tax concessions, governments have introduced new tariff regulations in order to compensate for the huge investments.

The UK government is offering 1.5 renewable obligation certificates (ROC) per MWh of power generated by offshore wind power compared to 1 ROC per MWh of power produced from onshore wind power. The German government has announced a sprinter bonus to encourage the faster development of offshore wind projects in the country.

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