The pros and cons of onshore & offshore wind

Both onshore and offshore wind will see explosive growth in the coming decade. Learn more about the pros and cons of onshore and offshore wind power, including how each works, their usage in the global energy marketplace, and why both will play an important role in the global energy transition. 

According to Statista, global wind power capacity reached 743 GW in 2020, up from 650 GW in 2019 despite delays on projects due to COVID-19. The exponential rise of wind power installations demonstrates its growing popularity around the world.
 

Driven by advances in technology and global policies fighting climate change, wind power is becoming more financially sustainable. China and the USA remain the world’s largest wind power markets, with countries in the UK and Europe, North America, and India also driving the trend at a rapid pace.
 

For an overview of the global wind power market, take a look at this video from the Global Wind Energy Council: 

Wind turbines work when air turns the carbon-fibre blades attached to the units. The blades are connected to a motor, which turns kinetic energy into electricity. The energy is transferred to a gearbox, which converts the slow spinning of the blades into a high-speed rotary motion. This then turns a drive shaft quickly enough to power an electric generator.

Traditionally, onshore wind turbines dominated the market, however, in recent years, advances in technology have led to the development of offshore wind farms.

For more information on the history of wind power, take a look at our post on how wind turbines have evolved.