GWEC, Irena and Denmark join forces to boost offshore wind

The formal launch of the group will take place later this year, with the US declaring its intention to join.

The GOWA wants to see installed global offshore wind capacity rise by 670% in less than a decade – from 57GW in 2021 to 380GW in 2030. From then, it wants to support installation at a rate of 35GW on average each year across the 2020s and a minimum of 70GW each year from 2030, to reach 2,000GW by 2050.

To help boost the sector, the group wants to make governments and other public and private stakeholders more ambitious on offshore wind. It also wants to support the creation of policy frameworks and efficient value chains capable of bringing new and existing markets to maturity. The group stated that sharing best practices and capacity building would help in this regard.

GWEC CEO Ben Backwell said: There couldn’t be a more crucial time for this alliance. 

“Dependence on volatile fossil fuels has created energy security and cost of living crises while driving runaway global heating. With offshore wind, the world has an effective solution for adding large amounts of zero carbon power at affordable costs, while creating jobs and new investments in industry and infrastructure all around the world.”

The GOWA met at a public event in New York yesterday (19 September) to present its ambitions and to invite new partners from the public and private sector to join.

Laura Daniel-Davis, principal deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management at the US department of the interior, said the US intends to join when the GOWA is formally launched later this year.

She added: “We recognize the value in global cooperation on offshore wind and the critical need for each country to do its part in tackling the climate crisis, and we hope that many others will join us as well. It’s through collaboration that we can build a more sustainable future for everyone.”   

GWEC told Windpower Monthly that the formal launch is expected at the COP27 summit in Egypt.