CRRC’s Qihang 20MW floating offshore wind turbine successfully rolled off the production line in Sheyang, Jiangsu. As the world’s most powerful floating offshore wind turbine, Qihang is expected to break the geographical limitations and extend wind power generation to even broader deep blue seas.

The wind turbine features a sweeping area equivalent to more than 7 standard football fields, a blade tip speed of up to that of a high-speed train (HST), and a power level of 20 megawatts. A single unit provides the ability to output clean electricity by 62 million kilowatt hours per year, which addresses the need of about 37,000 households, saving 25,000 tons of coal and reducing 62,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

In addition, the wind turbine is designed with leading concepts, aiming to provide such advantages as system modularity, superior stability, and across-chain collaboration. Modular unit, function and platform allow for optional power levels, functionalities, bases and floating platforms. With wave and wind resistant floating design, it incorporates customized components with low failure rate, high fault tolerance, and strong vibration resistance, which underwent extensive experimental verifications to ensure safe, stable, and reliable operation. Based on the proven HST technology and rich experience of CRRC, and supported by the most comprehensive wind power equipment supply chain, it offers leadership in terms of product performance and core technology, and is described by many as “standing HST” created by CRRC.

DNV is performing due diligence to enable the financing of eight offshore wind projects on the United States’ Atlantic Coast. The announcement follows news from DNV’s Energy Transition Outlook 2024 report, which forecasts that about 10 GW of fixed offshore wind is set to be installed in the U.S. between 2040 and 2050. While the industry has seen headwinds recently, and the latest Energy Transition Outlook has tempered its overall forecast for offshore wind, projects are still moving steadily forward, as reflected by the robust financing activity in the U.S. The offshore wind projects DNV is assessing collectively represent 13 GW of clean energy capacity, which would increase the U.S.’s total wind power capacity by nearly 9% if they become operational.

The technical due diligence DNV is providing to the financial stakeholders for these offshore wind projects is grounded in sound engineering judgement which is very important for developers, lenders and investors. This methodology is an evolution of the company’s proven approach that has enabled on-time financing for thousands of onshore wind, solar, transmission and battery energy storage projects in the U.S. and Canada.

DNV has also established local, in-house expertise around the intricacies of U.S. project finance and the structures that have emerged since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), such as transferability. Many stakeholders in the U.S. offshore wind industry are headquartered in Europe and rely upon DNV for its on-the-ground knowledge of the U.S. financing landscape. For these eight offshore wind projects, DNV is providing pre-commitment and construction monitoring due diligence to ensure all stakeholders understand the risks of the project prior to final investment decision and further capitalize on tax credit monetization opportunities from the IRA. These services are delivered within established financing mechanisms and  processes to ensure on-time closing.

“So far, three of the eight offshore wind projects we’re involved with have reached a final investment decision and the balance is making rapid progress towards this milestone. Our customers are now getting steel in the water and creating benefits for local communities,” said Richard S. Barnes, region president for Energy Systems North America. “We’ve learned that the offshore wind projects getting financed and moving into the development and construction stages are the ones where developers can hit narrow installation windows because they’ve identified and mitigated risks around vessel availability, supply chain, and evolving regulatory requirements.

” DNV’s U.S.-based offshore wind team enabled clients to succeed in California’s 2022 offshore auction, providing in-depth assessments of the technical, societal, and environmental risks around offshore wind development in Oregon and Maine, and are addressing barriers on behalf of the industry to accelerate the deployment of high voltage direct current (HVDC) technology. This regional team is backed up by a global network of experts that has assessed 50 GW of offshore wind energy.

“DNV uses our advisory expertise to help offshore wind projects increase performance and minimize risks. Success relies on understanding the dependencies between different parts of the offshore wind value chain – this is why we take a full lifecycle approach to managing risks and reducing costs,” concluded Barnes.

Offshore wind is poised for truly global growth after 2023 saw the second-highest annual installations as well as key policy developments that set the foundations for accelerated expansion of the industry over the next decade.

In 2023, despite the macroeconomic challenges faced by the sector in some key markets, the wind industry installed 10.8 GW of new offshore wind capacity, taking the global total to 75.2 GW. New capacity increased 24% on the previous year, a growth rate the Global Wind Energy Council expects to see continue up to 2030, if the present increase in policy momentum continues. 

In the next ten years, GWEC forecasts that 410 GW of new offshore wind capacity will be installed, bringing offshore wind deployment in line with global targets to install 380 GW by 2030. The majority of that will come at the turn of the decade, with two-thirds installed between 2029 and 2033. This rapid expansion of deployment must be built on a growing collaboration between industry and government and the creation of streamlined and effective policy and regulatory frameworks. 

This anticipated growth will be driven by the arrival of the next wave of offshore wind markets like Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brazil, Colombia , Ireland and Poland – where policy developments and unprecedented focus across governments, industry and civil society is setting the conditions for long-term offshore wind development at scale.

The report outlines a “Global Growth Framework for Offshore Wind” for industry and governments planning to rapidly scale up development covering finance, demand and industrial offtake, supply chain development, permitting, social consensus, workforce development and grid infrastructure. GWEC’s position is that forecasted growth is at risk if this framework is not implemented.

Ben Backwell, CEO, Global Wind Energy Council, said:

“Installing almost 11 GW of offshore wind is the leading edge of a new wave of offshore wind growth. Policy progress – especially across the Asia-Pacific region and the Americas – has set us on course to regularly install record-breaking capacity annually, and pass the 380 GW target set up by the Global Offshore Wind Alliance. That means offshore wind is on course to achieve the tripling ambition set at COP28 in Dubai.

“Offshore wind is now so much more than a  European, Chinese or American story. In the last year GWEC has seen rapid progress in new markets where the key drivers for offshore wind are now in place – from government commitments to sustainable economic growth, to increased consumer demand and industrial decarbonisation.

Rebecca Williams, Chief Strategy Officer – Offshore Wind, GWEC, said:

“Governments around the world are choosing offshore wind for their people and their economies. We have reached the point in mature markets where the technology is now proven to have the ability to  save households money versus conventional energy sources. 

“This new wave of offshore wind markets are taking notice and making progress of their own, in some cases outgrowing the ‘emerging’ label thanks to strong collaboration between industry and policymakers. It is vital to continue that cooperation, particularly in this year of significant elections around the world, to ensure targets become turbines and more markets develop in the wake of this decade’s expansion.”

Steven B. Hedlund, President and Chief Executive Officer, Lincoln Electric, said:

“We are very pleased to be a key sponsor for this year’s global offshore wind report, which highlights several key actions needed for further supply chain investment to increase the installed capacity of wind. The future ambitions of the offshore wind industry depends on an expanding supply chain where advanced technology and automation are going to help drive further expansion. Lincoln Electric is committed to play our part and will continue to invest in advanced technology solutions to help the industry grow.”

José Oriol Hoyos, Chairman and CEO of Iberdrola Renewables International, said

“Iberdrola is proud to once again sponsor GWEC’s Global Offshore Wind Report and show our continued deep commitment to this technology. This year is a major milestone and memorable moment in our journey towards a cleaner and sustainable future in which offshore plays a leading role. I encourage the whole industry to apply the same courage demonstrated to overcoming challenges in the past so next year we can proudly say that another record has been set and we are a step closer to meeting our ambitions.” 

Qiying Zhang, President and CTO of Mingyang Smart Energy, said

” The utilisation of marine energy, especially offshore wind power, plays a vital role to achieve the global energy transition whilst combating climate change and its impacts. As the world’s leading offshore wind turbine manufacturer and marine energy solutions provider, Mingyang Smart Energy is deeply committed to support the dual objective. We believe that through technological innovation, industrialization and global cooperation our industry can further reduce the cost of energy and ultimately help achieve large-scale offshore wind power deployment. We are proud to support this year