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Feb 22, 2021 - Energy & Environment

Offshore wind sector projected to see "prolific" jobs growth globally

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Reproduced from Rystad Energy; Chart: Axios Visuals
Reproduced from Rystad Energy; Chart: Axios Visuals

The consultancy Rystad Energy sees lots of job growth coming in the offshore wind power sector this decade.

The big picture: They see global installed offshore wind capacity reaching 110 gigawatts by 2025 and 250 GW by 2030, and "this prolific growth will require a lot of skilled employees."

How it works: Their tally captures a range of positions, ranging from turbine manufacturing to maintenance at offshore facilities to workers at plants supplying steel and electronics.

What we're watching: Growth in the U.S. sector, which has been very slow to get off the ground and has no large-scale projects operating yet.

  • Rystad sees the U.S. reaching 15 GW of installed capacity by 2030, which is lots of growth but still puts the U.S. very far behind Europe's more mature market.
  • "Europe, which dominates the offshore wind installed capacity globally, could expect to see demand for jobs more than triple by 2030, from 110,000 jobs in 2020 to around 350,000," Rystad notes.
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