Investment in the offshore wind sector in the first half of this year amounted to USD 32 billion, 52 per cent more than in the same same period in 2021, according to BloombergNEF (BNEF).
The financing of the 1 GW China Three Gorges (CTG) Yangjiang Yangxi Shapa Qingzhouwu Offshore Wind Farm for USD 2.1 billion was the largest deal during this period, BNEF’s report says.
The increase in offshore wind investment comes on the heels of newly approved projects and a rise in governmental efforts to up the share of renewable energy in national energy mixes.
“Investments in 2022 will flow into projects coming online in the next few years as the offshore wind installed base is set to grow tenfold from 53GW in 2021 to 504GW in 2035. Offshore wind projects enable companies and governments to make progress towards their decarbonization goals at scale” , said Chelsea Jean-Michel , offshore wind analyst at BNEF.
“The United Kingdom, France and Germany are just a few of the countries that have increased their offshore wind targets in the first half of 2022, signaling further support for investment in the technology”.
In the renewable energy sector, global investment reached USD 226 billion in the first half of 2022, an 11% year-on-year rise, setting a new record for the first six months of a year, according to BNEF’s Renewable Energy Investment Tracker 2H 2022.
“Despite the headwinds presented by ongoing cost inflation and supply chain challenges, demand for clean energy sources has never been higher, and we expect that the global energy crisis will continue to act as an accelerant for the clean energy transition” , said Albert Cheung , head of analysis at BloombergNEF.