London — European offshore wind capacity could increase tenfold by 2040 under carbon-neutral policies, the International Energy Agency said Friday. Launching its Offshore Wind Outlook 2019 report in Copenhagen, the agency said Europe would be the engine of global growth, followed closely by China. Today, offshore wind capacity in the EU stands at almost 20 GW. Under current policy settings, that is set to rise to nearly 130 GW by 2040. “However, if the European Union reaches its carbon-neutrality aims, offshore wind capacity would jump to around 180 GW by 2040 and become the region’s largest single source of electricity,” the IEA said. A more radical climate scenario where policies drive material demand for green hydrogen derived from offshore wind-fed electrolysis could push European offshore wind capacity dramatically higher, it said. Meanwhile global offshore wind capacity could increase 15-fold and attract around $1 trillion of cumulative investment by 2040, […]