China installs half of new offshore wind energy capacity by 2020

China was in 2020 for the third consecutive year the world leader in new wind turbines for offshore wind power, with more than 3 gigawatts of new offshore wind farm capacity, according to the Global Wind Energy Council.

“Although China was first hit by the COVID-19 epidemic, the impact on the offshore wind sector was minimal, resuming ‘business as usual’ in March 2020,” said Feng Zhao, Head of Market Strategy and Intelligence of Council.

China’s record growth is expected to continue into 2021, fueled by a flood of offshore wind facilities, Feng noted.

While the UK remains in first place globally for total offshore wind capacity, China has overtaken Germany to become the second largest offshore wind market in the world, according to the council.

Currently, the total global offshore wind capacity is more than 35 gigawatts, helping the world avoid 62.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to taking more than 20 million cars off the road.