Offshore wind

Fact about offshore wind power: 

• In 2024, the global offshore wind capacity was 80.9 GW, based on fully completed offshore wind projects (Source: Global Wind Energy Council, GWEC) 
• Europe now has 285 GW of wind power capacity, with 248 GW onshore and 37 GW offshore (Source: Wind Europe) 
• In 2024, 69 GW of offshore wind lease capacity was awarded globally (Source: Global Offshore Wind Report 2024, WFO) 
• The European Union’s long-term goal is 300 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2050   

About the NISA project 

In Ireland, Statkraft has ambitious plans to build 3 GW of renewable projects by 2030, and offshore wind will play an important role in making this happen. In 2023, Statkraft won Ireland's very first offshore wind auction. The North Irish Sea Array (NISA) project will be developed off the coast of counties Dublin, Meath and Louth. It will generate 500 MW and be able to supply up to 500,000 Irish households with renewable energy.  

You can read more about the North Irish Sea Array, our offshore wind project in Ireland here.   

What is offshore wind and how does it work?  

Simply put, offshore wind is wind farms placed out at sea. More specifically, there are some technical differences between types of offshore wind. The main distinction is between bottom-fixed offshore wind (where the turbines are permanently mounted on the seabed), and floating offshore wind, where the turbines are placed on floating platforms and anchored to the seabed. Bottom-fixed offshore wind is best suited for areas where the water depth is up to 80 metres, while floating offshore wind is a good match for depths of around 70 metres and deeper.  

Wind turbines produce electricity by converting kinetic energy from the wind into electrical energy. The wind is usually strong out at sea, but offshore wind turbines do not need much to produce electricity. Offshore wind turbines can produce electricity from a small breeze to a full storm. The blades of the turbines will rotate and adapt to both wind direction and strength (think of a sail on a sailboat) to make the best use of the wind. 

More curious about how offshore wind works? Here’s a bit of a deeper dive:  

1. The blades of a wind turbine capture the wind's kinetic energy. When the wind blows, it makes the blades go round. The stronger the wind blows, the faster the blades rotate 
2. As the blades rotate, they transfer power to a drive shaft. The drive shaft is like a long rod that runs from the blades to the generator in the machine house 
3. The generator then converts that kinetic energy into electrical energy 
4. Next, the electricity goes down through the tower of the wind turbine before being sent out to the power grid and ending up in homes, schools, workplaces, factories, and elsewhere 
5. As long as the wind is blowing, a wind turbine can produce electricity.  

Advantages of offshore wind 

Why is offshore wind important? Well, offshore wind plays a significant role in the global energy transition and is seen as necessary to reach the climate target of 1.5°C. Also, offshore wind is considered by many to be less conflictual and can coexist with nature and other users of the ocean. At the same time, offshore wind provides the opportunity for large-scale power production.  

The rapid growth in offshore wind in Europe has provided a lot of renewable power and, together with solar power and onshore wind power, has contributed to major changes in the European power sector. Want to know more about the role offshore wind will play in the future? Register here to read our Green Transition Scenarios report.  

Curious about Statkraft's strategy for contributing to the zero-emission society of the future? Get to know our Strategy here

How does offshore wind affect the price of electricity? 

In the power market, prices are set based on supply and demand. Fluctuations happen when the supply of power and consumption changes. Wind turbines, especially at sea, produce electricity almost all the time, and particularly on windy days, this wind power creates more supply, and helps to lower the electricity prices.  

In Europe, onshore and offshore wind power and solar energy often complement each other. Looking at the broader power mix, those technologies can also be combined with, for example, flexible Norwegian hydropower. In a nutshell, this is how offshore wind provides an important balance in the power system and contributes to increased energy security in Norway and Europe.  

You can read more about the power market and electricity prices on our Norwegian site here.  

Offshore wind, the environment and coexistence 

The planet is heating to perilous levels, and the science shows that fossil fuels are the primary driver of global warming. As a result, the world needs much more clean energy (like wind) to make the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Offshore wind provides the opportunity for large-scale power generation and can thus play an important role in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Also, it contributes to local jobs, businesses and industrial opportunities for many coastal communities.  

At the same time, we know that all power production, including offshore wind, has an impact on the environment and other users of the ocean. For offshore wind, some of the challenges and opportunities are:  

• Effects on users of the ocean like in fisheries, defence and transport, but also recreational boating 

• Impacts on biodiversity, fish species and areas on the seabed 

• Impacts on birds and fish that travel around or past the facility. 

At Statkraft, we are consistently working to map the consequences and look for solutions that make coexistence possible between offshore wind and others who use or live in the ocean. At lot of our work centres around researching and assessing how we can reduce or avoid negative impacts. One of the primary ways we do this is thorough impact assessments together with authorities and other relevant stakeholders. At the same time, we also seek to amplify the positive impact of offshore wind. For example, through installing artificial reefs on the foundations that increase the biodiversity of fish and crustaceans, having a positive impact on the local ecosystem. In addition, we also invest in research activities in renewable energy that help increase our understanding and minimize the environmental impact of our power production – including offshore wind.   

You can read more and see examples of how we work to reduce the environmental impact of our power production here.