The world is far from reaching its offshore wind capacity installation targets amid rising costs and canceled lease sales, analysts and government and industry representatives have told Reuters. Last year, governments set a goal to triple overall renewable energy capacity by 2030. Currently, the world is off track to reach these goals, and much of the shortfall could be in the offshore wind energy sector, where expensive projects have become even more expensive over the past two years.
Offshore wind farms have seen costs surge by 30-40% over the past two years and the average cost of $230 per MWh is now triple the average onshore wind cost of about $75 per MWh, Lassen added. As a result, companies and governments are rethinking offshore wind strategies. Supermajor BP, for example, is reportedly considering a potential sale of a minority stake in its offshore wind business in a move to reduce spending on project developments in the sector.