Offshore wind is the fastest growing resource in renewables, eclipsing solar and onshore in investments and developments. As a critical technology for producing green hydrogen and meeting COP26 goals, nations are pushing hard to deploy turbines in bulk.
In their way stands several barriers, from high capital expenditure to communities staunchly opposing any change in landscape. Below we’ll look at five that threaten to keep offshore wind energy from realising its maximum potential.
High Costs
Costs are falling in Europe, where offshore wind technology has been in development since the ‘90s. In the UK, researchers predict it may soon become cheaper to produce than fossil fuels. Yet in other regions that direly need to shift from fossil fuels, prices to fabricate, transport, and install parts are still high.
In India, which is the world’s second largest consumer of coal, projects stagnate without the capital to fuel development. The Gujarat project, which would have been a 1GW installation and the country’s first offshore wind plant, has not seen any progress since 2018. “Offshore wind is a very expensive technology for India right now, especially when prices have fallen for onshore wind and solar,” says Kashish Shah, an analyst from Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
Even wealthier nations such as Japan and South Korea find current costs prohibitive. “Floating offshore wind is starting to gain more attention but the high cost remains a major barrier to widespread adoption of this technology,” says Robert Liew, a principal analyst at WoodMackenzie. Floating wind will be integral for countries like Japan and South Korea who have limited coastal seabed.
Disruptions To Marine Habitats
Buoyed miles away from shore, floating wind farms can generate more power, sustained by stronger and less intermittent wind. Compared to traditional plants, floating farms are not limited by the available seabed, and make offshore wind possible even for nations with low wind speed or whose continental shelves aren’t viable for hundred-foot structures to sink into.
But while floating farms may be the key to solving wind energy’s problems with predictability and real estate, it’s still something manmade and massively encroaching upon the natural world. And this world is not only home to thousands of creatures whose migratory routes and hunting grounds are about to change forever–it also represents the livelihood of fishermen, many of whom have been casting nets in the same area for generations.
Securing permits for offshore wind sites, given the wide expanse of farms, is a complex and expensive affair that can cause significant delays. Even wind majors like Orsted can face uncertainty over multiple delays in planning decisions. Streamlining the process will require the industry to find a way to minimise damage. Some believe companies can take it a step further and look into how turbines can improve the habitats they’re built in.
Pervading Nimbyism
Jim Gordon’s Cape Wind farm was to be the first of its kind in the United States. Spanning 130 turbines large, the 360MW plant would have generated enough energy to power tens of thousands of homes in Massachusetts.
Not a single watt was ever generated. In 2017 Gordon and his company, Energy Management Inc., finally decided after a 16-year battle to pull the plug. Cape Wind faced opposition from numerous groups, including fishermen and Indian tribes.
However, the force that ultimately sunk Gordon’s clean energy dreams didn’t come from groups concerned about environmental damage. Wealthy property owners didn’t like the idea of turbines ruining their waterfront view, and raised over $40 million to oppose the development.
Under President Joe Biden, the US offshore wind industry is finally beginning to find purchase. But the same “not in my backyard” resistance that killed Cape Wind is stymying other developments in the nation. Vermont had around a dozen wind developments in 2012. Today it has none. “There are moments, faced with a global crisis, when it feels like the state motto should be ‘Don’t change a thing until I die’”, says environmentalist Bill McKibben.
Bigger Turbines, Bigger Problems
GE’s Haliade X is one of the largest in the world. Its blades stretch more than 100 metres each, towering higher than a 20-storey building. Transporting such a behemoth presents significant logistical challenges, even in an industry well-versed in transporting large equipment. Currently, there are only four vessels that can transport Haliade-X.
And the turbine race is just beginning to take off. The Haliade-X has already been dethroned by Chinese manufacturer Ming Yang’s MySE 16.0-242. Aurélie Nasse, Vestas’ head of offshore product market strategy, is wary about the pace going too fast, particularly for manufacturers: “If you look at the financial results of the manufacturers, basically none of us make money anymore. That’s a big risk”.
These bigger turbines are also necessitating heavy investment in developing port infrastructure. The UK has pledged £160 million to upgrade harbours. But we can’t keep throwing money at the problem for long. Some developers are already looking into a more modular approach, developing parts that can be transported individually and be pieced together on-site.
Ship Shortages
Offshore wind is a key component of meeting net zero goals by 2050. However, the current global capacity is only at 2 percent of what it should be. Nations are pumping their local industries in an effort to make up the difference, making offshore wind the fastest growing renewable energy source ahead of solar and onshore wind.
The logistics of offshore wind are struggling to fill the job order. Turbines are getting larger, requiring the development of new, specialised vessels.
By 2030, experts predict demand to be eight times as high as it is today. “We identify the heavy-lift vessel segment as the key bottleneck for offshore wind development from the middle of this decade, and the need for next generation vessels may slow the cost reductions expected in offshore wind,” says Alexander Fløtre, Rystad Energy’s Product Manager for Offshore Wind.
Whether we can realise offshore wind’s potential is yet to be determined. Capacity is currently only at a fraction of what it needs to be to hit net zero targets. Various challenges still stand in the way of widespread adoption. These will need to be hurdled to unlock the full power of offshore wind globally.
