Offshore wind energy options beckon Oman

around 20 GW of offshore wind capacity in operation, which represents fantastic growth of this young industry. The sector began its growth in north-central Europe, but has since spread to China, Asia Pacific and very soon into North America as well.”

As the industry becomes more mature, offshore wind farm sizes and capacities are expanding as well, while capex costs are dropping dramatically too, he noted. “We also see the trend of wind farms going further away from the shore where there is more wind, while reducing visibility from the shore in order that tourism will not be impacted.

At the same time, wind farms are being installed in deeper waters, ranging between 40-50 metres, which is significant. Capacities per wind farm average 340 MW each as well.”

Individual turbines too are growing in size and capacity, according to the expert.

The latest wind turbines typically feature 10 MW generation capacity with rotor blade lengths of 9095 metres, resulting in towering machines rivalling France’s Eiffel Tower in height, he stated.

“So the future looks good for offshore wind energy. We expect electricity generating costs of offshore wind energy to be less than 40 eurocents per kilowatt hour, which is much less than when it all began in 1991,” Dittmer added.