China has been rewriting its renewable energy plan in the wake of the Fukushima Nuclear Energy Disaster in Japan.Note there has been a strong global backlash against nuclear energy around the world and 7 nuclear plants in Germany have been closed all but in name.Other countries like South Korea,Italy,Switzerland are rethinking of what do about their nuclear reactors giving the massive tail risks with nuclear generation.China had a target of only 20 GW of solar by 2020 has decided to raise the target by 150% to 50 GW according to the country’s leading energy planning authority NRDC.Note China installed more than 15 GW of Wind Energy in 2010 alone becoming the world’s largest Wind Energy Market by far.Solar Energy strongly lags Wind in China despite China having the biggest solar panel manufacturing industry in the world.Its Golden Sun and other Solar Subsidy programs have been small in absolute terms compared to its huge electricity capacity.

Wind Power in India is the 5th biggest wind energy market in the world with more than 2 Gw of wind capacity being installed in the country.However Wind Energy Companies in India are seeing increasing competition from the entry of low cost Chinese Wind Turbine manufacturers Shanghai Electric and Dongfang.Chinese Wind Companies have seen astronomical growth in the last 5 years to occupy 7 of the top 15 global positions in the top wind companies in the world from zero.On the other hand India has only Suzlon in that list. Wind Turbines in India which are not as sophisticated and advanced in the western market with most turbines being of lower than 1 MW capacity.However with increasing focus on improving the LCOE and development of low wind locations,India Turbine producers are concentrating on introducing higher capacity 2.5 MW turbines and advanced technology like “direct drive” wind turbines.

Offshore Wind Energy has been foretasted from around 3 GW to 75 GW by 2020 as countries in Europe,Asia and North America heavily support this industry.Onshore wind energy growth on the other hand is expected to slow down as 38 GW of Wind Capacity were installed in 2010 with Western Markets showing a sharp slowdown.Offshore Wind is seeing increasing growth as government heavily subsidize and support Offshore Wind Energy.Though the costs of offshore wind parks are much higher today,they will decrease as the installed offshore wind capacity increases from around 3 GW today to around 75 GW which is being foretasted globally by 2020.Note every industry sees costs declining with large capacity except the mature industries.For example Wind Energy has seen a 10% decline in costs for every 100% increase in installed capacity.Note offshore wind projects offer even more Wind Energy Advantages than normal Land Based Wind Farms.The only problem facing offshore wind power is high costs as the industry still is on the learning curve.However as companies gain experience and build capacity,the prices will be cut as costs come down and volumes increase.European Wind Companies are leading the pack as almost 80% of the current global capacity has been installed in Northern Europe.The opportunity is so large that South Korea shipbuilders like Samsung,Daewoo and Hyundai are investing heavily in this area.

Offshore Wind Energy grew by more than 50% in 2010 and is expected to continue at above 50% growth rates over the next several years as the global installed offshore wind capacity multiples by more than 25 times over the next 10 years.The massive investments and government interest in offshore wind farms has attracted a number of companies to this sector.Top Wind Turbine Companies are leading the pack as it falls right in their domain of expertise as Wind Turbines form almost 50% of the cost of a offshore wind park.Other companies with expertise in related areas such as building foundations for the giant 5 MW and greater capacity offshore wind turbines and the logistics in transporting them also get involved.Shipbuilders from South Korea and Northrop Gruman are also getting in through JV and M&A.European Wind Companies are leading the pack as almost 80% of the current global capacity has been installed in Northern Europe.Also these companies possess a high level of expertise at building and designing wind turbines.Here is a list of the major offshore wind turbine companies.

Offshore Wind Energy has been forecasted from around 3 GW to 75 GW by 2020 as countries in Europe,Asia and North America heavily support this industry.Note onshore wind energy growth has slowed down as 38 GW of Wind Capacity were installed in 2010.Offshore Wind Energy is being subsidized as it has a number of advantages over onshore wind power despite its higher costs.The oppurtunity is so large that South Korea shipbuilders like Samsung,Daewoo and Hyundai are investing heavily in this area.Note Onshore Wind Energy also has many advantages which have overcome the drawbacks to become the biggest green industry.Offshore Wind Power is set to take up the growth baton fro Onshore Wind as Costs are expected to come down as the industry and technology matures and more Wind Turbine Companies gain experience in this area.Note USA has 4000 GW of Offshore Wind Capacity which is enough to meet the entire electricity need of the biggest power consumption country in the world.

Offshore Wind Parks which are clusters of giant offshore Wind Turbines built near the coast in the middle of the water have become the fastest growing segment of the Wind Power Industry.The list of of offshore wind farms are increasing as government heavily subsidize and support Offshore Wind Energy.Just like Electric Vehicles,offshore wind farms though not economic today will help immensely in the fight against Climate Change in the future.Though the costs of offshore wind parks are much higher today,they will decrease as the installed offshore wind capacity increases from around 3 GW today to around 100 GW which is being targeted globally.Note every industry sees costs declining with large capacity except the mature industries.For example a rule of thumb for solar power costs are that they decline by around 20% for every 100% increase in installed capacity.Offshore Wind Power today suffers from higher costs as the industry and the ancillary infrastructure is not well devloped.However as companies gain experience and build capacity,the prices will be cut as costs come down and volumes increase.So what is the cost of offshore wind power and what are the cost drivers of this industry.