Currently, offshore wind provides only 0.3% of global power generation. But a recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) claims that setting up wind turbines on the world’s best offshore sites could provide more than enough clean energy to outstrip global energy demand.
In the analysis, the IEA outlined that offshore wind could generate 11 times more electricity than the world’s needs and could attract $1 trillion in investment by 2040. Of course, it would take a major infrastructural commitment to developing wind power to the point that renewable energy sources take over, but it’s not impossible.
According to the report’s findings, if wind farms were built across all useable sites which are no further than 37 miles off the coast, and where coastal waters are no deeper than 60 meters, they could generate 36,000 terawatt-hours of renewable electricity a year. This would easily meet the current global demand for electricity of 23,000 terawatt-hours.
