Rising demand to install offshore wind for zero-carbon electricity means the supply chain will need to triple before the end of this decade, Orsted’s chief said.
Currently, 7 gigawatts of wind turbines can be installed in the world’s waters and that capability will need to triple to meet the needs to decarbonize power grids, Orsted Chief Executive Officer Mads Nipper said at the Columbia Global Energy Summit in Manhattan. Regulatory measures such as the US’s Inflation Reduction Act are needed to drive capital into the industry and permitting time lines need to be reduced substantially, he said.
The bigger-than-skyscraper turbines are seen as a key way to displace fossil fuels with renewable power in big cities. The Biden administration has set a goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of wind power off US shores by by 2030.