As we inch closer to 2030, nations are racing to build the capacity to meet offshore wind targets. Thousands of kilometres of development sites are opening or have already opened for offshore wind developers this 2023, continuing the strong showing from last year’s tenders.
There are more than promising signs of growth in offshore wind over the coming years. These projects are bound to create new employment opportunities for professionals looking to enter renewables. If you want to follow where the demand will grow, below are eight notable auctions happening this year to keep an eye on.
Ireland
Results for Phase One of Ireland’s first and biggest auction for offshore wind installations is set to be released in June. The auction itself will open this April. Projects up for bidding are expected to deliver 2.5GW of offshore wind capacity by 2026 or 2027.
Phase Two, set to be launched later this year after Phase One wraps up, opens two areas along the South coast of Ireland totaling a capacity of 350MW divided between two projects, or a single 700MW project. Together, the projects are set to bring Ireland 5GW of offshore capacity by 2030, bringing it much closer to its target of 7GW.
Norway
It will be a pivotal year for the floating wind industry. Norway has opened a tender for what could be the world’s biggest offshore floating wind installation. Utsira Nord, an area which lies in the North Sea, is a 1,000 square kilometre area that will be divided between three 500MW floating wind projects–but research reveals the capacity can rise up to 750MW.
A second area, in the Southern North Sea, will be opened for bottom-fixed farms. Norway plans to award a contract for a single 1.5GW installation, which is expected to generate energy to power 460,000 homes. In total, Norway will have auctioned 4.5GW of offshore wind projects by the end of 2023.
USA
Once online, projects built on the sites can generate enough wind energy to power 1.3 million homes, according to the Interior Department of the United States. One is found offshore of Louisiana’s Lake Charles, while the other two are off Galveston, Texas. Currently, TotalEnergy and Shell are two majors who have already prequalified for the auction.
Germany
In Germany, all eyes are on two large offshore wind auctions. The first will be for the development of four areas totalling 1.8GW in capacity. Two sites are found north of Norderney, while the other two are located northwest of Borkum.
The second is a massive tender for 7GW spread across another four sites in the North Sea and Baltic Sea. Developments in the North Sea are expected to have a capacity of 2GW each, while the lone Baltic Sea installation will contribute 1GW to Germany’s total.
Finland
At present, there is only one operational offshore wind plant in Finland. But that is set to change rapidly over the next ten years. There are currently seventeen projects in development. A tender scheduled later this year will add two more to the list.
This October, Finland is set to open tenders for two sites in Ostrobothnia. The auctions mark the beginning of a five-project endeavour that will rise off the coasts of the municipalities of Siikajoki, Hailuoto, Pyhäjoki and Raahe, Närpiö and Kristiinankaupunki. Two are set to be tendered in 2024, with the fifth to be announced at a later date. The projects are expected to contribute 6GW of offshore wind capacity for Finland, moving it closer to its goal to go carbon neutral by 2035.
Portugal
Buoyed by a massive 40GW potential for floating wind, Portugal has set its targets even higher for the country’s debut offshore wind auction. Last June, the government committed to tender projects that will add 6 to 8GW to the grid by 2030. By the end of the year, that target was raised to 10GW. While sites to be leased have yet to be finalised, authorities have begun looking into six areas where Portugal’s turbines might rise: Viano do Castelo, Leixões, Figueira da Foz, Ericeira-Cascais and Sines.
Eager to capitalise on interest from major developers, the country has moved the auction–which was planned for the last quarter of the year–even earlier. “We are going to speed up the process and want to launch the auction in the third quarter,” says Antonio Costa e Silva, the Economy Minister of Portugal.
Lithuania
Three years ago, Lithuania’s Ministry of Energy announced intentions to open up 137.5 square kilometres for offshore wind development. And last March 31, it fulfilled those plans with the country’s first offshore wind tender.
The area in question spans 36 kilometres and is located off the coast of western Lithuania. The tender will be for the development of Offshore Wind Park, a farm expected to generate 700MW in capacity–roughly enough to meet a quarter of the country’s energy demands. “This is undoubtedly one of the most important projects in terms of strengthening energy independence,” says Daiva Garbaliauskaitė, Lithuania’s Deputy Energy Minister.
India
This year marks the first in India’s plans to release offshore wind tenders for sites in Tamil Nadu’s Gulf of Mannar and the region of Gujarat. The plan, led by the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), aims to open 4GW of offshore wind projects to developers every year for the next three years.
It is worth noting that the expected issue of the first round of tenders by the end of March did not happen. Instead, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy revealed plans to invest millions in the development of Pipavav and Tuticorin, which are both ports in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu that will be central to building the infrastructure of India’s offshore wind dreams this decade.
Swathes of ocean and seabed continue to open up for offshore wind installations. 2023 in particular is set to be a landmark year that decides which developers and markets will lead the industry in capacity through the next decade.
