Despite the demand for clean energy, offshore wind projects abandoned due to high costs

**Offshore Wind Projects Face Economic Crisis as Costs Soar**

Offshore wind projects worldwide are confronting an economic crisis that has resulted in the cancellation of billions of dollars in planned spending. This setback comes at a time when the world urgently requires clean energy. The cancellation of contracts and the abandonment of wind farm plans are indicative of the challenges that the offshore wind industry is currently facing.

**Cancellation of Projects**

A number of major offshore wind projects have been affected by the economic crisis. Iberdrola SA, a Spanish company, has agreed to terminate a contract to sell power from a planned wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts. Orsted A/S, a Danish developer, lost a bid to supply offshore wind power to Rhode Island due to rising costs. Swedish utility Vattenfall AB has also abandoned its plans for a wind farm off the coast of Britain citing inflation as the reason.

**Impact of Soaring Costs**

The soaring costs associated with offshore wind projects are preventing their successful implementation, despite the increasing demand for renewable energy. Climate change-driven extreme heat is straining electrical grids globally, highlighting the need for additional power generation and increasing the urgency for a faster transition away from fossil fuels. Furthermore, the push to reduce dependence on Russian oil and gas in Europe has given momentum to clean-energy projects.

**The Scale of the Crisis**

The cancellation of the three affected projects represents a significant loss of power generation potential. These projects would have provided 3.5 gigawatts of power, which accounts for more than 11% of the total offshore wind fleet currently deployed in the US and Europe. Moreover, there are at least 9.7 gigawatts of US projects at risk due to the developers seeking to renegotiate or exit contracts as they consider the power prices too low to justify their investments.

**Reasons for Cost Increase**

There are several factors contributing to the rising costs of offshore wind projects. The prices of materials, especially steel, have skyrocketed, necessitating higher turbine prices. In addition, the costs of vital services like specialized vessel installation have significantly increased. Furthermore, the rising interest rates have made it more expensive to acquire debt for project financing.

**Continuation of Investment**

Despite the economic challenges, some offshore wind projects in the US and the UK are still progressing. This points to a continuing interest in investment in the sector, albeit at higher costs. Recently, oil majors BP Plc and TotalEnergies SE bid €12.6 billion ($14 million) to develop offshore wind farms in Germany’s North Sea. However, the cancelled and delayed projects illustrate that governments must be prepared to pay more to support offshore wind projects if they are committed to achieving their clean energy goals.

**Decarbonization and Offshore Wind**

Offshore wind plays a crucial role in decarbonization efforts. The large size of turbines at sea makes them highly efficient in generating renewable electricity. According to BloombergNEF, in the US, each megawatt of installed capacity of offshore wind farms has the potential to produce triple the amount of electricity generated by a solar park. In the UK, wind farms generate five times more electricity than a solar farm of the same size.

**Ambitious Targets and Challenges**

Governments worldwide have set ambitious targets to scale up offshore wind deployment. For instance, President Joe Biden aims to have 30 gigawatts of offshore wind farms installed in the US by the end of the decade. European nations, including the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands, have pledged to reach a combined 120 gigawatts of wind power by 2030, more than four times the current capacity. However, achieving such expansion while maintaining cost reductions for consumers remains a challenge.

**Importance of Swift Action**

The cancellation of the Norfolk Boreas wind farm project by Vattenfall is seen as the beginning of a potential crisis within the offshore wind industry. Policymakers need to take swift action to prevent further developers and wind farms from following a similar path. Transparent strategies and policy support are key to ensuring the success of offshore wind and the realization of renewable energy goals.