Offshore wind power resource availability and prospects: A global approach

In the absence of structural incentives that price negative externalities, renewable energies rely primarily on investors’ expectations of future performance to succeed in the marketplace. While there have been many disparate regional analyses of the prospects for clean energy, in particular wind, there is yet a cohesive framework for thinking about global interactions. Using data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the article addresses three shortcomings in empirical renewable policy literature. First, the article briefly synthesizes the current state of the offshore wind literature. Second, the article develops a linear programming model to assess the relative prospects of offshore wind energy throughout seven world regions: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) North America, OECD Europe, OECD Asia and Eurasia, Non-OECD Europe and Eurasia, Non-OECD Asia, Africa, and Central & South America. Third, the article applies the Interactive Agency Model (IAM) as a systems-level framework for thinking about offshore wind development in the presence of social, economic, and institutional attributes. Results suggest that OECD Asia and Eurasia, OECD Europe, and non-OECD Europe and Eurasia, respectively, have the highest potential for offshore wind sector performance. Despite simplifying assumptions, this article presents one of the first evaluations of global offshore wind energy potential for policymakers and industry to consider in crafting future renewable energy investment decisions.