The city of Chaozhou, located in China’s southeastern Guangdong province, has released formal plans for a massive 43 GW offshore wind farm. To put that into perspective and to give you a sense of scale, there is currently about 54 GW of offshore wind power total in the entire world.
Globally, the total offshore wind pipeline - those planned or currently under construction - has reached 517 GW. And the single biggest chunk within that heartening number, is the one scheduled for commencement no later than 2025 in Chaozhou.
The renewables complex will almost certainly be the world’s largest wind farm when completed, generating more electricity than all of the power plants in Norway combined. By comparison, the world’s current largest wind farm, also in China, has a capacity of 8 GW and there is currently about 54 GW of offshore wind power total in the entire world.
Chaozhou’s ambitious plan is just one piece of an impressive pipeline of recent wind projects in China. In 2021, the country connected more offshore wind energy alone (17 GW) than all other countries combined. China now accounts for about 40 percent of the world’s 824 GW installed wind capacity and roughly half of its offshore wind capacity.
Chaozhou’s investment offers more evidence that renewables are not only economically viable but poised to grow exponentially in the years to come, offering critical momentum in the transition to a decarbonized economy.
The UK’s offshore wind pipeline has now reached 86 GW - a 60 percent increase in 12 months. The US’s pipeline is at 48 GW, which is a significant number, seeing how it currently has almost no built offshore wind capacity.