2023 has already been a busy year in offshore wind worldwide with more than 10 lease auctions and five support and offtake auctions – but 2024 will be the busiest year so far in offshore wind history.

New auctions have been announced in several markets, especially in Europe where it builds on a bumper pipeline set to be uncorked this decade. However, 2024 will be the most packed year to date as offshore wind auctions totaling more than 50 GW are planned for kick-off.

• Europe will dominate the auction scene in the coming years just as the region did in 2023. It will be particularly interesting to keep an eye on auctions in Germany and Denmark, both having recently phased out subsidies, as well as UK where the coming AR6 CfD auction could restore confidence in the market.

• In the US, east coast states are speeding up PPA auctions, including New York and New Jersey, as they react to recent turmoil with PPA deals. Meanwhile, Colombia is kicking off the first seabed auction in Latin America still this December.

• In Asia-Pacific, front-running markets are continuing to progress auction plans. South Korea’s 1.5 GW offtake auction was oversubscribed as six developers submitted bids totaling just over 2 GW, while in Taiwan, the final rules for round 3.2 were decided with bidding deadline set for April 2024.

2030 is a popular year for offshore wind targets, so the next two years will be critical for governments to meet their goals. Europe alone targets to have 300 GW of offshore wind capacity operating by mid-century, meaning next year and 2025 will be packed with auctions, with 2024 alone having the potential to see almost 50 GW awarded.

Aegir Insights Auction Intelligence Package

Do you want to keep up to date on the many offshore wind auctions worldwide?

Aegir Insights recently released an updated Auction Database to subscribing clients which provides an overview of coming and past offshore wind auctions, covering auction criteria, timing, project size and much more for both fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind.

Reach out to us here to learn more about our auction intelligence package.