With governments set to award hundreds of gigawatts of capacity worldwide in the coming decades, much could be won and lost based on sustainability criteria in offshore wind auctions. How the concept of sustainability is shaped will be crucial for an impactful carbon reduction of the industry in the future.

• Three core themes
  While biodiversity has been a focus for more than a decade, carbon footprint and circularity are the emerging themes that are gaining traction as sustainability criteria in offshore wind auctions. These concepts impact the entire supply chain, from developers to sub-suppliers, through measures like life cycle assessments. Though definitions vary, these three themes are the prevalent concepts in sustainability criteria this far and are being increasingly used in the evaluation of offshore wind auction bids.
  
• Varying stages of implementation across countries
  Six frontrunner countries in Northern Europe have applied sustainability criteria in their auction designs, however, the approach and implementation differs across markets. Accordingly, the level of detail and the weight attributed to sustainability criteria varies, and the industry is hoping for a more standardized approach in the future.

Aegir Insights' Market Insights report on sustainability

Aegir Insights’ new Market Insights report analyzes the rise of sustainability in auction criteria. This features insights into how governments and industry players have applied and addressed these emerging concepts focused on greening the offshore wind build-out.

Reach out to us here to learn more about the rise of sustainability in offshore wind auctions and Aegir Insights’ offshore wind intelligence.

Beaufort - Aegir Insights' offshore wind intelligence brief

Dive deeper into the topic, with Mainstream Renewable Power Sustainability Chief Ingrid Lomelde's opinion piece previously featured in Aegir Insights' intelligence newsletter Beaufort: ‘Offshore wind has broader value to society as a catalyst for a sustainable, renewables-powered world’. You can find the article here.