IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i15p6614-d1448499.html

Comparative Analysis of Global Onshore and Offshore Wind Energy Characteristics and Potentials

Author

Listed:
  • Sergen Tumse

    (Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Cukurova University, Adana 01330, Türkiye)

  • Mehmet Bilgili

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ceyhan Engineering Faculty, Cukurova University, Adana 01950, Türkiye)

  • Alper Yildirim

    (Department of Machinery and Metal Technology, Osmaniye Vocational School of Higher Education, Osmaniye Korkut Ata University, Osmaniye 80000, Türkiye)

  • Besir Sahin

    (Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Cukurova University, Adana 01330, Türkiye
    Aerospace Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Istanbul Aydın University, Istanbul 34295, Türkiye)

Abstract

Wind energy, which generates zero emissions, is an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional electricity generation. For this reason, wind energy is a very popular topic, and there are many studies on this subject. Previous studies have often focused on onshore or offshore installations, lacking comprehensive comparisons and often not accounting for technological advancements and their impact on cost and efficiency. This study addresses these gaps by comparing onshore and offshore wind turbines worldwide in terms of installed capacity, levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), total installed cost (TIC), capacity factor (CF), turbine capacity, hub height, and rotor diameter. Results show that onshore wind power capacity constituted 98.49% in 2010, 97.23% in 2015, and 92.9% in 2022 of the world’s total cumulative installed wind power capacity. Offshore wind capacity has increased yearly due to advantages like stronger, more stable winds and easier installation of large turbine components. LCOE for onshore wind farms decreased from 0.1021 USD/kWh in 2010 to 0.0331 USD/kWh in 2021, while offshore LCOE decreased from 0.1879 USD/kWh in 2010 to 0.0752 USD/kWh in 2021. By 2050, wind energy will contribute to 35% of the global electricity production. This study overcomes previous limitations by providing a comprehensive and updated comparison that incorporates recent technological advancements and market trends to better inform future energy policies and investments.

Suggested Citation

  • Sergen Tumse & Mehmet Bilgili & Alper Yildirim & Besir Sahin, 2024. "Comparative Analysis of Global Onshore and Offshore Wind Energy Characteristics and Potentials," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-28, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:15:p:6614-:d:1448499
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6614/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6614/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kaldellis, J.K. & Apostolou, D. & Kapsali, M. & Kondili, E., 2016. "Environmental and social footprint of offshore wind energy. Comparison with onshore counterpart," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 543-556.
    2. Khan, Asif & Seyedmahmoudian, Mehdi & Raza, Ali & Stojcevski, Alex, 2021. "Analytical review on common and state-of-the-art FR strategies for VSC-MTDC integrated offshore wind power plants," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    3. Nagababu, Garlapati & Kachhwaha, Surendra Singh & Naidu, Natansh K. & Savsani, Vimal, 2017. "Application of reanalysis data to estimate offshore wind potential in EEZ of India based on marine ecosystem considerations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 622-631.
    4. Chen Zhang & Tao Yang, 2023. "Anomaly Detection for Wind Turbines Using Long Short-Term Memory-Based Variational Autoencoder Wasserstein Generation Adversarial Network under Semi-Supervised Training," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-18, October.
    5. Feng, Ju & Shen, Wen Zhong, 2017. "Design optimization of offshore wind farms with multiple types of wind turbines," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 1283-1297.
    6. Li, Jiale & Yu, Xiong (Bill), 2018. "Onshore and offshore wind energy potential assessment near Lake Erie shoreline: A spatial and temporal analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 1092-1107.
    7. Hogan, Jessica L. & Warren, Charles R. & Simpson, Michael & McCauley, Darren, 2022. "What makes local energy projects acceptable? Probing the connection between ownership structures and community acceptance," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    8. Nie, Bingchuan & Li, Jiachun, 2018. "Technical potential assessment of offshore wind energy over shallow continent shelf along China coast," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 128(PA), pages 391-399.
    9. Bahaj, AbuBakr S. & Mahdy, Mostafa & Alghamdi, Abdulsalam S. & Richards, David J., 2020. "New approach to determine the Importance Index for developing offshore wind energy potential sites: Supported by UK and Arabian Peninsula case studies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 441-457.
    10. Tu, Qiang & Betz, Regina & Mo, Jianlei & Fan, Ying & Liu, Yu, 2019. "Achieving grid parity of wind power in China – Present levelized cost of electricity and future evolution," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C), pages 1053-1064.
    11. Bosch, Jonathan & Staffell, Iain & Hawkes, Adam D., 2018. "Temporally explicit and spatially resolved global offshore wind energy potentials," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 766-781.
    12. Hong, Lixuan & Möller, Bernd, 2011. "Offshore wind energy potential in China: Under technical, spatial and economic constraints," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 4482-4491.
    13. Rubert, T. & McMillan, D. & Niewczas, P., 2018. "A decision support tool to assist with lifetime extension of wind turbines," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 423-433.
    14. Yang, Xiaolei & He, Lingyun & Xia, Yufei & Chen, Yufeng, 2019. "Effect of government subsidies on renewable energy investments: The threshold effect," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 156-166.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Duan, Fude & Basem, Ali & Sawaran Singh, Narinderjit Singh, 2025. "Stochastic designing of a hybrid system with hydrogen energy management based-fuel cell using machine learning and improved arithmetic optimization algorithm for building electrification," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    2. Omboto, Jane Kwamboka & Kamau, Joseph Ngugi & Saoke, Churchill Otieno & Wekesa, David W., 2026. "Wake Effects and Energy Yield Optimization under Realistic Wind Conditions at Ngong Hill Wind Farm," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science (IJRIAS), vol. 11(3), pages 877-905, March.
    3. Sebastian Zupok & Ewa Chomać-Pierzecka & Artur Dmowski & Stefan Dyrka & Andrzej Hordyj, 2025. "A Review of Key Factors Shaping the Development of the U.S. Wind Energy Market in the Context of Contemporary Challenges," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-24, August.
    4. Davide Astolfi & Marco Pasetti, 2025. "Wind Integration and Power System Planning: Challenges, Policies, and Governance in Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-5, October.
    5. Zbysław Dobrowolski & Peter Adamišin & Arkadiusz Babczuk & Sławomir Kotylak, 2025. "Towards a Green Transformation: Legal Barriers to Onshore Wind Farm Construction," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-17, March.
    6. Brian Loza & Luis I. Minchala & Danny Ochoa-Correa & Sergio Martinez, 2024. "Grid-Friendly Integration of Wind Energy: A Review of Power Forecasting and Frequency Control Techniques," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-22, November.
    7. Arkadiusz Małek & Agnieszka Dudziak & Andrzej Marciniak & Tomasz Słowik, 2025. "Designing a Photovoltaic–Wind Energy Mix with Energy Storage for Low-Emission Hydrogen Production," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-23, February.
    8. Arkadiusz Małek, 2025. "Low-Emission Hydrogen for Transport—A Technology Overview from Hydrogen Production to Its Use to Power Vehicles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-32, August.
    9. Xiaomei Ma & Mengxue Li & Wenquan Li & Yongqian Liu, 2025. "Overview of Offshore Wind Power Technologies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-16, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Peters, Jared L. & Remmers, Tiny & Wheeler, Andrew J. & Murphy, Jimmy & Cummins, Valerie, 2020. "A systematic review and meta-analysis of GIS use to reveal trends in offshore wind energy research and offer insights on best practices," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    2. Wang, Xuefei & Zeng, Xiangwu & Yang, Xu & Li, Jiale, 2019. "Seismic response of offshore wind turbine with hybrid monopile foundation based on centrifuge modelling," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 1335-1350.
    3. Li, Jiangxia & Pan, Shunqi & Chen, Yongping & Yao, Yu & Xu, Conghao, 2022. "Assessment of combined wind and wave energy in the tropical cyclone affected region:An application in China seas," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    4. Yang, Zihao & Dong, Sheng, 2024. "A novel framework for wind energy assessment at multi-time scale based on non-stationary wind speed models: A case study in China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    5. Sun, Yanwei & Li, Ying & Wang, Run & Ma, Renfeng, 2023. "Assessing the national synergy potential of onshore and offshore renewable energy from the perspective of resources dynamic and complementarity," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    6. Jung, Christopher & Schindler, Dirk, 2023. "The properties of the global offshore wind turbine fleet," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    7. Gil-García, Isabel C. & Ramos-Escudero, Adela & García-Cascales, M.S. & Dagher, Habib & Molina-García, A., 2022. "Fuzzy GIS-based MCDM solution for the optimal offshore wind site selection: The Gulf of Maine case," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 130-147.
    8. Wang, Xuefei & Zeng, Xiangwu & Li, Xinyao & Li, Jiale, 2019. "Investigation on offshore wind turbine with an innovative hybrid monopile foundation: An experimental based study," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 129-141.
    9. Sun, Yanwei & Ai, Hongying & Li, Ying & Wang, Run & Ma, Renfeng, 2024. "Data-driven large-scale spatial planning framework for determining size and location of offshore wind energy development: A case study of China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 367(C).
    10. Virtanen, E.A. & Lappalainen, J. & Nurmi, M. & Viitasalo, M. & Tikanmäki, M. & Heinonen, J. & Atlaskin, E. & Kallasvuo, M. & Tikkanen, H. & Moilanen, A., 2022. "Balancing profitability of energy production, societal impacts and biodiversity in offshore wind farm design," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    11. Benjamin Pakenham & Anna Ermakova & Ali Mehmanparast, 2021. "A Review of Life Extension Strategies for Offshore Wind Farms Using Techno-Economic Assessments," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-23, March.
    12. Dong, Cong & Huang, Guohe (Gordon) & Cheng, Guanhui, 2021. "Offshore wind can power Canada," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    13. Wen, Yi & Kamranzad, Bahareh & Lin, Pengzhi, 2021. "Assessment of long-term offshore wind energy potential in the south and southeast coasts of China based on a 55-year dataset," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    14. Salvação, N. & Guedes Soares, C., 2018. "Wind resource assessment offshore the Atlantic Iberian coast with the WRF model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 276-287.
    15. Nagababu, Garlapati & Kachhwaha, Surendra Singh & Savsani, Vimal, 2017. "Estimation of technical and economic potential of offshore wind along the coast of India," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 79-91.
    16. Wen, Yi & Kamranzad, Bahareh & Lin, Pengzhi, 2022. "Joint exploitation potential of offshore wind and wave energy along the south and southeast coasts of China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    17. Lugovoy, Oleg & Gao, Shuo & Gao, Ji & Jiang, Kejun, 2021. "Feasibility study of China's electric power sector transition to zero emissions by 2050," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    18. Martínez-Gordón, R. & Morales-España, G. & Sijm, J. & Faaij, A.P.C., 2021. "A review of the role of spatial resolution in energy systems modelling: Lessons learned and applicability to the North Sea region," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    19. Boudia, Sidi Mohammed & Santos, João Andrade, 2019. "Assessment of large-scale wind resource features in Algeria," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    20. Putuhena, Hugo & White, David & Gourvenec, Susan & Sturt, Fraser, 2023. "Finding space for offshore wind to support net zero: A methodology to assess spatial constraints and future scenarios, illustrated by a UK case study," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:15:p:6614-:d:1448499. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.