Top 10 Gigawatts: Offshore Wind Power Capacity (Infographic)

Originally published on 1Sun4All.

This infophoto shows the current information available on offshore wind in a graphic form, so we can easily see the big picture. It will be fun to update this in a year and look back at the progress that’s been made. It will also be wonderful to see the United States participate in the offshore industry.

When we discuss gigawatts of offshore wind, the place to begin is megawatts. The wind farms that are operational at this time are all megawatt (MW) in size. There is one project underway in the United Kingdom that will be more than 1 gigawatt (GW) in size. The planning consent has been granted for what will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm at Triton Knoll, off the Lincolnshire and Norfolk coast. It represents a £3.6 billion investment, around 1,130 jobs created and will provide power to 820,000 homes.

According to RenewableUK:

Great Britain has been the world leader in offshore wind since October 2008, with as much capacity already installed as the rest of the world combined. Total offshore generating capacity in UK waters is currently around 3,653 MW, providing power for around 2 million homes.

In addition to the capacity already installed, a further 3.8 GW is either in construction or has planning approval, and a further 7.8 GW is in the planning system. One of these projects that in the planning system is the 1.1 GW Rampion Offshore Wind Farm. It will be located off the Dorset and Hampshire coasts, near Brighton & Hove.

The US Department of Energy reports:

Offshore wind represents a large, untapped energy resource for the United States, offering over 4,000 gigawatts of clean, domestic energy potential – four times the nation’s current total generation capacity. According to a recent report commissioned by the Energy Department, a US offshore wind industry that takes advantage of this abundant domestic resource could support up to 200,000 manufacturing, construction, operation and supply chain jobs across the country and drive over $70 billion in annual investments by 2030.