Abstract: At present, China's installed offshore wind power capacity has surpassed United Kingdom and Germany, ranking first in the world. According to the "2023 Statistical Briefing on China's Wind Power Hoisting Capacity" officially released by the Wind Energy Professional Committee of the Chinese Renewable Energy Society, in 2023, the new installed capacity of offshore wind power in mainland China will be 7.18GW, accounting for 9% of the total new installed capacity. Offshore wind power in mainland China has the advantages of abundant resources, high power generation utilization hours and close proximity to load centers, and has broad development prospects for the industry. By the end of 2023, the cumulative installed capacity of wind power in mainland China exceeded 195,000 units, totaling 474.6GW, a year-on-year increase of 20%, of which 37.7GW was installed offshore, accounting for 7.9% of the total cumulative installed capacity.
Keywords: offshore wind power, development status, competitive landscape
1. Overview of the offshore wind power industry
Offshore wind power refers to a way of using offshore wind energy to establish wind farms in major areas such as intertidal zones and offshore waters, and convert wind energy into electricity. Due to the abundance of offshore wind resources and more stable wind speeds, the power generation efficiency of offshore wind power is also higher. At present, many countries around the world have begun to develop and build offshore wind power.
Compared with onshore wind power, offshore wind power has the advantages of high stability, high power generation efficiency, less land resource occupation, and proximity to load centers for on-site consumption. Wind speeds are typically 20% higher offshore than those on the coast, and power generation takes longer than onshore winds, which rarely occur during quiet wind periods. In addition, for wind turbines, the terrain is complex and rough, and the wind speed at different heights often varies greatly, resulting in the fragility of wind turbines, while there are few such risks at sea, so offshore wind turbines can provide a larger and more stable source of power for wind speeds. In addition, as far as the mainland is concerned, the eastern region is relatively more economically developed, and the development of offshore wind power is more conducive to local consumption and reduce power loss during transportation.
When implanting a fan in the sea, it is necessary to consider the complex seabed geology, wave fluctuations, hydrological environment, anti-corrosion, anti-erosion and other issues. At the same time, typhoons are frequent in China's southeast coastal areas, and how to ensure that offshore wind farms can withstand typhoons is also a key focus of offshore wind power construction. Offshore wind farms in mainland China are widely distributed and can be divided into intertidal and subtidal tidal flat wind farms, offshore wind farms and deep-sea wind farms according to the depth of seawater. Intertidal and subtidal tidal flat wind farms are wind farms developed and constructed in the sea area below the average high tide line of the coastal area for many years to a water depth of 5 m below the theoretical minimum tide level; Offshore wind farms refer to wind farms developed and constructed in sea areas with a water depth of 5-50m below the theoretical minimum tide level; Deep-sea wind farms refer to wind farms developed and constructed in sea areas with a water depth of 50 m below the theoretical minimum tide level. There are two main types of support technologies for offshore wind turbines: bottom fixed support and suspended support. Among them, the bottom fixed support can be divided into three ways: gravity caisson foundation, single pile foundation and tripod foundation; The suspension support can be divided into two types: pontoon type and semi-immersion type. When the water depth exceeds 50 meters, the investment cost of offshore wind power projects will be greatly increased in geological survey, construction and construction, and floating wind power is the best choice for further development of offshore wind energy resources. Therefore, tidal zone and offshore wind farms generally use fixed support wind turbines, and deep-sea wind farms generally use suspended support wind turbines.
2. Offshore wind power industry chain
Offshore wind power is an important emerging marine industry, which has the characteristics of a long industrial chain, high technology content and large industrial scale. The upstream of the offshore wind power industry chain includes raw materials such as epoxy resin, glass fiber, carbon fiber, and sandwich materials, as well as parts and components such as blades, wind power castings, generators, main control systems, submarine cables, and bearings, as well as auxiliary equipment such as transport ships and large crane ships. The midstream is engaged in the manufacture of offshore wind turbines and the construction, operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms. The downstream of the industrial chain is offshore wind power generation, including the capture of wind energy, the generation of electricity, and the transmission to the terminal power grid.
From the upstream of the industrial chain, wind turbine parts manufacturers can provide wind turbine components required for offshore wind power construction. Wind turbine blades are one of the most basic key components of wind power and one of the key factors affecting the efficiency of wind power generation. With the further deepening of the localization of parts, the cost of upstream wind turbine components, especially wind turbine blades, will decrease, and the product quality, durability and average life will continue to improve, promoting the economic benefits of the downstream offshore wind power industry to continue to rise. In 2023, the scale of China's wind turbine blade market will reach 44.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20%; It is expected to grow to 56.2 billion yuan by 2025. In addition, auxiliary equipment manufacturers are mainly transport ships provided by ship design institutes and shipyards. With the improvement of the technical level of offshore wind power auxiliary equipment in mainland China, the structure, function, size and professionalism of transport ships and crane ships will be further improved, so as to better guarantee the construction of offshore wind power industry.
Note: This article is excerpted from the industry analysis article "Analysis of the Scale Status and Competition Pattern of China's Offshore Wind Power Industry in 2024: Cumulative Installed Capacity Continues to Rise, Market Concentration is High [Figure]" released by Zhiyan Consulting.
Based on authoritative data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, government agencies, and industry associations, the Research Report on Investment Strategy Analysis and Development Prospects of China's Offshore Wind Power Industry released by Zhiyan Consulting combines the collection and analysis of global data such as in-depth research data, expert feedback data, and internal operation data to improve the efficiency of customers' business decision-making. This report provides an in-depth investigation and research on the current situation and market of China's offshore wind power industry, and makes a prudent judgment on the future development prospects and trends according to the development trajectory of the industry, which provides a crucial decision-making reference for investors to find new market investment opportunities and enter the investment layout of the offshore wind power industry.
Zhiyan Consulting has been focusing on industrial consulting for 15 years and is a professional service organization in the field of industrial consulting in China. The company takes "driving industrial development with information and empowering enterprise investment decision-making" as its brand concept. Provide professional industrial consulting services for enterprises, including high-quality industry research reports, special customization, monthly topics, feasibility study reports, business plans, industrial planning, etc. Provide weekly/monthly/quarterly/annual reports and other regular reports and customized data, covering policy monitoring, corporate dynamics, industry data, product price changes, investment and financing overview, market opportunities and risk analysis, etc.