5 Developing Offshore Wind Markets To Keep An Eye On
Offshore wind energy continues to sweep the world. While most of the capacity remains concentrated in nations who have been in wind for decades like the UK and Nordic countries, lower costs and a heightened imperative to shift away from oil and gas are revealing promising potential in developing countries that only a decade ago had little to no offshore wind ambitions.
These specific countries have the potential to establish themselves as major producers, according to reports by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). Let’s look at the local conditions that make these nations fertile ground for offshore wind to take root.
Colombia
Colombia has the ability to lead Latin America in offshore wind capacity, alongside Brazil and Chile. According to estimates, the country has a massive potential to generate 50 GW from offshore wind.
A combination of a strong support for renewables and favourable geography makes Colombia a good place for wind energy. Nearly 50 percent of its territory is sea. Strong winds in Colombian Caribbean waters give the region the ability to reliably generate up to 70 percent of its projected capacity, surmounting one of offshore wind’s few drawbacks: unpredictability.
The government was scheduled to hold its first offshore wind auction last August, but announced a delay earlier this month. While no new date has been given, the Maritime Directorate and the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) reassured that planning for the tender continues, and that ninety percent of the documents have already been created.
Morocco
With a long coastline facing the open seas of the Atlantic Ocean, Morocco is ideally positioned to become an offshore wind powerhouse in the Arab region. Resources are abundant. The waters along the strait of Gibraltar and the Moroccan Atlantic coast can see wind speeds of up to 10 m/s. An average of 4 m/s is already considered good for offshore wind.
The Kingdom is quick to take advantage. Plans are in place to add 4.2 GW in wind capacity by 2030. Should the country successfully generate its potential capacity, it will produce enough energy from offshore wind to power its needs 17 times over.
Beyond a natural abundance of wind, other local factors are pulling the winds in Morocco’s favour. The Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN) manages the entire permitting process. This helps streamline the stretch where many projects stumble and encounter delays.
Morocco has a number of lucrative onshore wind farms, one of which is the largest in Africa. The schemes that supported development and raised investment for these sites can be leveraged for launching floating wind. Maritime transport is a keystone of the economy, meaning port infrastructure is already near many places of interest, driving down costs of logistics and production.
Indonesia
Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelagic nation, and boasts the longest coastline in South East Asia. More than 60 percent of its territory is water.
However, its location towards the lower latitude means average wind speeds are slow, unlike high latitude countries like Japan or Korea. In the world of wind, it’s considered a “mild resource” country; the tepid government support for wind is partly blamed on its classification as wind-poor.
Despite subpar estimations on paper, Indonesia is relevant for offshore wind in its own right. For one, it’s not a complete right-off: researchers have identified several areas of interest with winds strong enough to power turbines. The World Bank estimates the nation has a technical potential of 277 GW, the majority of which will come from fixed bottom installations.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, Indonesia can end up improving the feasibility of offshore wind for the world. Although a strong wind sector may not be in the country’s immediate future, it can become the proving grounds for a new kind of turbine. Spurred by necessity, researchers are already looking at engineering a turbine that can remain efficient at low pressure.
Philippines
The Philippines’ archipelagic geography lends itself well to offshore wind development. And unlike Indonesia, the country meets ideal wind conditions for turbines, making it incredibly fertile ground for offshore wind.
According to the World Bank, the Philippines has a technical offshore potential of 178 GW, 160 GW of which will be floating wind. The island nation is bordered by deep waters, and 90 percent of the viable areas marked for offshore wind are in depths of over 50 metres.
Madrid-based BlueFloat Energy has already moved into the nation’s nascent floating wind sector, securing service contracts for four sites. Once operational, the projects are estimated to have a capacity of 7.5 GW.
Last October 2022, the Department of Energy (DoE) announced that it had issued forty offshore wind power service contracts to twenty developers. Most of the contracts were awarded to local players, but the market is expected to become more competitive soon, due to the government lifting ownership limitations on foreign entities.
The Danish Copenhagen Infrastructure New Markets Fund (CINMF) is one of the first foreign firms to take advantage. The company has landed three offshore wind contracts in the Philippines and will have 100 percent ownership interest of the projects.
Egypt
By 2030, Egypt is predicted to become Africa’s top wind producer. Twenty percent of its energy mix is supplied by renewable energy resources, and the country has ambitions to increase it. If tapped, offshore wind has the potential to grant the region 166 GW in capacity.
Two areas of interest for developers: the Gulf of Suez and Egypt’s Mediterranean coast. The former is said to hold 1.5 GW in offshore wind capacity and activity is underway to unlock it. GE has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the gulf, while Vestas has won rights to a 1027 GW project in the region.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s Mediterranean coast could become a 13 GW resource that would double the country's total capacity for renewable energy.
For decades, most of the chatter around offshore wind growth has centred around mature markets like the UK. But more are poised to enter the spotlight. Several developing countries have vast wind resources, giving them the potential to become regional leaders–should they succeed at capitalising on opportunities.