Revealing deep-far offshore wind potential through an integrated resource assessment and priority zoning framework: A case from China's adjacent seas

Offshore wind energy plays a pivotal role in the global energy transition. Limited nearshore resources are compelling offshore wind projects to expand into deep and far offshore regions, necessitating coordinated policy formulation and systematic resource evaluations in these regions. Here, we present an integrated framework that quantifies both wind resource quality and generation stability to identify priority development zones in China's adjacent seas. A novel metric, the Weighted Mean Duration (WMD), captures the persistence of high-output wind events, while a hierarchical-clustering based approach is employed to objectively identify high-quality priority development areas that balance resource abundance and reliability. Application of this framework reveals that deep and far offshore regions exhibit higher mean wind speeds, extended availability windows, and superior WMD compared to nearshore areas. The highest-priority zones exhibit an average annual energy production of 16 GWh/km2, with their area fraction increasing from 5% in nearshore regions to 10%, 25%, and 36% in far, deep-far, and ultra-deep-far sea regions, respectively. Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) analyses indicate that higher energy yields offset increased capital expenditures, rendering offshore wind projects cost-competitive in deep and far offshore regions, while ongoing trends in turbine upscaling further enhance both their economic and technical feasibility. Our work provides a quantitative, data-driven foundation for prioritizing offshore wind investment and development. The findings underscore the vast, untapped potential of China's deep and far offshore regions, offering critical insights for strategic planning to ensure a reliable and sustainable energy future.