The deployment of wind farms in bodies of water is known as offshore wind power or offshore wind energy. Because offshore wind speeds are higher than on land, offshore farms generate more electricity per unit of capacity installed,and NIMBY opposition is often weaker.
Unlike how the term "offshore" is commonly used in the marine sector, offshore wind power encompasses both inshore and deeper-water locations, such as lakes, fjords, and sheltered coastal areas. In relatively shallow water, most offshore wind farms use fixed-foundation wind turbines. Floating wind turbines for deeper waters were still in the development and deployment stages in 2020.
As of 2020, the total worldwide offshore wind power capacity was 35.3 gigawatt (GW).United Kingdom (29%), China (28%) and Germany (22%) account for more than 75% of the global installed capacity. The 1.2 GW Hornsea Project One in the United Kingdom was the world's largest offshore wind farm.Other projects in the planning stage include Dogger Bank in the United Kingdom at 4.8 GW, and Greater Changhua in Taiwan at 2.4 GW.
The cost of offshore has historically been higher than that of onshore,but costs decreased to $78/MWh in 2019.Offshore wind power in Europe became price-competitive with conventional power sources in 2017.Offshore wind generation grew at over 30 percent per year in the 2010s.
